League One high-flyers Wigan Athletic travel to Championship outfit Stoke City in the FA Cup fourth round on Saturday afternoon.
The Latics have promotion ambitions and are currently second in the third tier, while the Potters' playoff hopes are hanging in the balance in the division above as they sit 12th.
Match preview
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Wigan are currently on a remarkable 20-match unbeaten run in all competitions, which has propelled them into the automatic promotion mix in League One.
The run also includes FA Cup wins over Solihull Moors, Colchester United and then Championship side Blackburn Rovers in round three.
This is the Latics' first appearance in the fourth round since 2018 and since famously beating Manchester City to win the 2013 final, they have only reached round five on two occasions.
Leam Richardson's side have the best away record in League One this season and have only lost twice on the road throughout the whole campaign.
Wigan won 3-0 in the last fixture between these two sides when they met in the Championship in June 2020 – the Latics' points deduction for going into administration relegated them three weeks later.
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Stoke eased past League Two outfit Leyton Orient with a 2-0 win in the third round, ending a staggering run of six years without a victory in the FA Cup.
The Potters, who were runners-up to Manchester City in 2011, have made it past round four only once in the last nine seasons.
Michael O'Neill's side have faded away from the Championship top-six picture in recent weeks as they are winless in their last three matches.
Meanwhile, they have won just one of their last six games at the bet365 Stadium – which was the third round victory over Orient.
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Team News
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Three of Stoke's January arrivals - Phil Jagielka, Lewis Baker and Jaden Philogene-Bidace – will all be unavailable for this game as they are cup-tied.
However, there could be debuts for deadline day signings Josh Maja and Liam Moore, who have no such issues.
Goalkeeper Joe Bursik is in contention to feature having recovered from a muscle injury that has ruled him out since the beginning of November, while Mario Vrancic will be assessed after being forced off against Huddersfield Town last weekend.
Wigan have been dealt a blow by the news that top scorer Will Keane will miss the game due to a hamstring injury, while defender Tom Pearce is also out.
January signing Graeme Shinnie is cup-tied, but deadline day recruits Jamie McGrath and Glen Rea could make their debuts.
James McClean will be eager to feature against his former club, but fellow ex-Potter Jordan Cousins has a long-term thigh injury.
Stoke City possible starting lineup:
Bursik; Wilmot, Chester, Fox; Smith, Allen, Powell, Thompson, Tymon; Wright-Phillips, Brown
Wigan Athletic possible starting lineup:
Jones; Tilt, Watts, Whatmough; Power, Naylor, Rea, Darikwa; Lang, Magennis, McClean
We say: Stoke City 1-2 Wigan Athletic
This should be an intriguing game given Wigan's remarkable unbeaten run and Stoke's place as the higher-ranking side. Michael O'Neill may decide that his team need to focus on getting back into Championship playoff contention, which could allow the Latics to cause another cup upset.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Wigan Athletic win with a probability of 44.78%. A win for Stoke City had a probability of 28.56% and a draw had a probability of 26.7%.
The most likely scoreline for a Wigan Athletic win was 0-1 with a probability of 11.82%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-2 (8.91%) and 0-2 (8.33%). The likeliest Stoke City win was 1-0 (8.96%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.63%). The actual scoreline of 2-0 was predicted with a 4.8% likelihood.
