Promotion-chasing Wigan Athletic will be looking to return to winning ways in League One when they welcome Oxford United to the DW Stadium on Tuesday night.
The Latics were held to a goalless draw by Cheltenham Town on Saturday, which knocked them off the top of the division, while Oxford will enter the contest off the back of a 7-2 victory at Gillingham.
Match preview
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Wigan's four-game winning run in League One came to an end on Saturday afternoon, as they were held to a goalless draw by Cheltenham, which saw them knocked off the top of the division by Rotherham United.
The Latics are now second in the table, boasting 55 points from 25 matches, but they are only a point behind leaders Rotherham with two games in hand, while the promotion hopefuls are a point clear of third-placed Sunderland with four games in hand on the Black Cats.
As a result, Leam Richardson's side are in a strong position in the table, unbeaten in the third tier since the end of October, while they have been victorious in six of their last eight league fixtures.
Wigan have the best away record in League One this season, but they have dropped points in five of their 12 home league games in 2021-22 and will now welcome an Oxford side that scored seven in an extraordinary victory over Gillingham at the weekend.
The Latics, who are bidding to return to the Championship at the second time of asking, ran out 3-2 winners over Oxford when the two teams locked horns in the reverse fixture earlier this season.
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As mentioned, the visitors will enter Tuesday's contest off the back of a 7-2 success at Gillingham, with Cameron Brannagan scoring four penalties in an extraordinary contest in Kent.
Billy Bodin, Matthew Taylor and Anthony Forde were also on the scoresheet in the resounding win, and Oxford will now be bidding to make it three League One victories in a row, having also recorded a 3-2 victory over Sheffield Wednesday in their last home match on January 22.
A record of 14 wins, seven draws and seven defeats from 28 matches has seen Karl Robinson's side collect 49 points to sit sixth in the table, three points behind fourth-placed MK Dons.
Oxford are the second-highest goalscorers in League One this season with 50 and will head to Wigan full of confidence for what is shaping up to be a fascinating contest in the third tier of English football.
The U's finished sixth in League One last term to secure a spot in the playoff semi-finals but suffered a 6-3 defeat to Blackpool, who overcame Lincoln City in the final to return to the second tier.
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Team News
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Wigan boss Richardson made one change to his starting XI for the clash with Cheltenham, as Josh Magennis came in for Stephen Humphrys, and the former is expected to retain his spot here.
As a result, it would not be a surprise to see an unchanged side from the weekend, with recent arrival Graeme Shinnie retaining his spot in the middle of the park.
Former Manchester United youngster Will Keane has scored 14 League One goals for the Latics this season, meanwhile, and he will again feature in an attacking area.
As for Oxford, head coach Robinson will again be without the services of James Henry, Jamie Hanson and Alex Gorrin through injury.
Herbie Kane is available after serving a suspension, but it would not be a surprise to see the same XI that took to the field for the first whistle against Gillingham on Saturday.
Taylor will again lead the line for the visitors, while Brannagan, fresh from his four-goal showing in Kent, should be joined by Marcus McGuane in the middle of midfield.
Wigan Athletic possible starting lineup:
Amos; Power, Whatmough, Watts, Darikwa; Naylor, Shinnie; Edwards, Keane, McClean; Magennis
Oxford United possible starting lineup:
Stevens; Long, Moore, McNally, Seddon; Brannagan, McGuane; Holland, Bodin, Sykes; Taylor
We say: Wigan Athletic 2-1 Oxford United
This has all the makings of an excellent game of football in League One, and it should be an open contest between two strong sides. Wigan will be desperate to return to winning ways, though, and we believe that the home team will do enough to pick up all three points on Tuesday night.
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 37.73%. A win for Oxford United had a probability of 36.86% and a draw had a probability of 25.4%.
The most likely scoreline for a Wigan Athletic win was 1-0 with a probability of 8.71%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (8.39%) and 2-0 (6.09%). The likeliest Oxford United win was 0-1 (8.59%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12%). The actual scoreline of 1-1 was predicted with a 12% likelihood.
