Wigan Athletic square off against Burton Albion on Tuesday evening looking to strengthen their position at the top of the League One standings.

At a time when the Latics are sitting three points clear of Rotherham United, Burton are down in 17th place after a three-game winless streak.

Match preview

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At one stage this season, it appeared that Wigan should prioritise trying to claim the second automatic promotion place behind a relentless Rotherham United.

However, with the Millers collecting just five points from six matches, Wigan have taken full advantage, accumulating a total of 14 points over the same period.

Such a return has left the Latics six points clear of third position, and having lost just once in 13 outings, there is every expectation that Leam Richardson's team will get over the line with games to spare.

Last time out, Wigan posted a 3-1 victory at Lincoln City, a double from Callum Lang ending his six-game drought and taking his tally to 14 league goals for the campaign.

With some testing fixtures still to come, Wigan will take nothing for granted, but recording a 27th third-tier triumph of the campaign will heap further pressure on the chasing pack.

From Burton's perspective, they have reached a point where they require just one victory to realistically secure their status in League One for another 12 months.

Nevertheless, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink would have expected far more from the Brewers, who have suffered eight defeats from 13 encounters played since the start of February.

A goalless draw with promotion-chasing Plymouth Argyle at the weekend naturally felt like a step in the right direction, particularly when it represented Burton's first clean sheet since November 27.

However, the Staffordshire-based outfit have now failed to score in three successive contests, a run which Hasselbaink will want rectified sooner rather than later to keep Burton in the hunt for the mid-table spots.

Team News

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Jonny Smith is expected to miss out for Burton after suffering a shoulder injury against Plymouth on Saturday.

Christian Saydee was introduced as his replacement during that fixture and appears to be in line to get the nod for this contest.

Jacob Maddox and Louis Moult are alternatives if Hasselbaink wishes to introduce any fresh legs.

Despite having several options at his disposal, Richardson may be prepared to stick with the Wigan XI which started at Lincoln.

Graeme Shinnie may be recalled in midfield if the Latics boss wants to add some energy to his team.

Burton Albion possible starting lineup:
Kovar; Hughes, Brayford, Oshilaja; Hamer, Mancienne, Borthwick-Jackson, Kokolo; Powell; Saydee, Chapman

Wigan Athletic possible starting lineup:
Amos; Kerr, Whatmough, Watts; Darikwa, Power, Naylor, Bennett; Keane; Lang, Magennis

We say: Burton Albion 1-3 Wigan Athletic

Burton have proven on numerous occasions this season that they are capable of picking up points on home territory. However, we cannot back against a relentless Wigan side right now, leading us to predict a relatively comfortable victory for the promotion chasers.

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