Both aiming to bounce back from disappointing defeats last weekend, Wigan Athletic and Leyton Orient will do battle at the DW Stadium on Saturday.
The visitors dropped to ninth spot in the League One table and six points behind the playoff places following a home loss to Bristol Rovers, while their hosts sit 10 points behind in 13th place.
Match preview
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Wigan Athletic return to the DW Stadium on Saturday aiming to bounce back to winning ways and move closer to the top half, having enjoyed a pleasing season under the management of Shaun Maloney in spite of heavy points deductions.
The Latics headed into the third-tier campaign with eight points deducted, but they currently sit 13th after 36 matches with 44 points on the board courtesy of 15 victories alongside seven draws.
After sitting on 37 from 32 outings, the Lancashire outfit were able to move well clear of the threat of relegation with an improved run of results in February, beating Shrewsbury Town and Bolton Wanderers 1-0 either side of a 1-1 draw with a resurgent Cheltenham Town side, as Stephen Humphrys netted the only goal against promotion-chasing rivals Bolton.
Aiming to extend that streak and move closer to the top half, Maloney's men most recently travelled to take on relegation-threatened Fleetwood Town last weekend and left empty-handed from a disappointing 4-2 defeat, despite coming from a goal down to go 2-1 up through Humphrys and Thelo Aasgaard, as Bosun Lawal restored parity for the hosts before Gavin Kilkenny and Jayden Stockley sealed the win with second-half goals.
Having now all but wrapped up a comfortable mid-table finish, with a 10-point lead over the drop zone and 10 games to go, Wigan will bid to return to winning ways on Saturday with their sights set on 12th-placed Northampton Town who are just five points better off.
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Their visitors are similarly bidding to return to winning ways at the weekend after a disappointing defeat last time around, as they set out to remain in the fight for a playoff place this term.
Having only won promotion from League Two last time around, Leyton Orient have certainly enjoyed an impressive campaign back in England's third tier, currently sitting ninth with 54 points on the board from their 36 games thus far.
After looking bound for a bottom-half finish, Richie Wellens's side have been in fine form since Boxing Day, winning nine of their last 14 games and picking up 29 points to put themselves in the top-six fight, including consecutive 2-1 and 1-0 wins over fellow playoff-chasers Oxford United and Blackpool late last month, coming from a goal down in the former before Ollie O'Neill wrapped up the three points in the latter.
Such a run left the O's eighth and just five points off sixth spot ahead of the weekend's contest at home to Bristol Rovers, but Wellens's side were unable to make it three victories on the bounce and instead came away empty-handed, as the visitors prevailed in a 1-0 triumph having stood strong after Chris Martin's 30th-minute goal.
Having now fallen further behind Stevenage and the chasing pack as a result of that loss, while having played a game more than the sixth-placed side, Leyton Orient will know there is little more room for error if they are to mount a real playoff challenge in the run-in and will set out to bounce back on Saturday.
Team News
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Shaun Maloney may opt to make several changes to his Wigan Athletic starting XI on Saturday after their defeat to Fleetwood last weekend, with Charlie Hughes, Scott Smith, Callum McManaman, Jordan Jones, Josh Magennis and Charlie Kelman all pushing for recalls.
Hughes may join Charlie Goode and Jason Kerr in a back three, while Matthew Smith and Baba Adeeko are bound to again partner up in the engine room in a 3-4-3 shape.
Despite competition from Magennis and Kelman, Stephen Humphrys should again get the nod to lead the line, having scored in back-to-back games to take his tally to nine league goals for the season, while Thelo Aasgaard will continue to play a key role in support of the front man having contributed eight goals of his own in 25 third-tier appearances this term.
Leyton Orient will remain without Jordan Graham, Theo Archibald and Adam Thompson due to injury issues on Saturday, while key defender Dan Happe has also been absent for their last five games and could again miss out for the trip to Lancashire.
If he remains out of action, Brandon Cooper will continue to join Omar Beckles at the heart of a back four, while Jordan Brown and Idris El Mizouni are bound to again partner up at the base of the midfield in their 4-2-3-1 shape.
At the top end of the pitch, their line will be led by Ruel Sotiriou, who has notched up 10 League One goals so far this term, while winger Shaq Forde is another danger man having hit nine of his own in the third tier.
Wigan Athletic possible starting lineup:
Tickle; Hughes, Goode, Kerr; J Smith, Adeeko, M Smith, S Smith; McManaman, Aasgaard; Humphrys
Leyton Orient possible starting lineup:
Brynn; Galbraith, Beckles, Cooper, James; Brown, El Mizouni; Forde, Moncur, O'Neill; Sotiriou
We say: Wigan Athletic 1-1 Leyton Orient
Wigan Athletic have only earned two fewer points than their visitors this term, aside from their deduction, and they certainly have the quality to trouble Leyton Orient on home turf.
The hosts are in the midst of a fine run, though, and with the aim of bouncing back from a rare defeat, we see Wellens's men doing enough to take a share of the points.
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Sam Varley
