Wigan Athletic will be looking to continue their resurgence under manager, Paul Cook, in Saturday’s lunchtime clash against Lancashire rivals, Preston North End, when the two teams meet at the DW Stadium.
Wigan have won their last two league matches on the trot in the Championship having recorded wins against Sheffield Wednesday 2-1 at home before claiming an unexpected 1-0 victory away from home at high-flying Leeds United at Elland Road.
That surprising win at Leeds became only their second away win so far this season, and together with an earlier 3-2 win away from home at Birmingham City, this means The Latics have won 3 of their last 5 matches in the second tier.
Turning to results at home and Wigan have suffered just 1 defeat out of their last 5 matches which was a 2-0 loss to a rejuvenated Bristol City outfit but 1-1 draws each with West Brom, Huddersfield Town and Derby County along with the win over Sheffield Wednesday show that Wigan are still fighting for their Championship lives.
Despite extending their unbeaten run in the Championship to 4 matches, Preston North End dropped out of the play-off pack following their 1-1 draw at home with Swansea City last weekend, but Alex Neil’s side are still just one win away from breaking back into the top six.
Recent back-to-back wins against Charlton Athletic and Barnsley in 2-1 and 3-0 victories have been either side of 1-1 draws with Blackburn Rovers and the aforementioned Swansea City, thus Preston bring a 4-match unbeaten run into this clash.
Preston have also improved their results on the road in the Championship too.
The visitors are also unbeaten in their last 4 matches on their travels as well, which includes draws at Cardiff City and Leeds United, so Alex Neil’s side have certainly tightened things up on the road in recent times.
With Wigan’s improved form overall and Preston becoming more of a force to be reckoned with on their travels in recent weeks, together with this clash being a local derby, we could see both teams score here as a result as they continue their bids for safety and a place in the play-off pack respectively.