Preview: Wigan Athletic vs. Lincoln City - prediction, team news, lineups

Third-placed Wigan Athletic will be looking to put together a strong run of home form when they welcome Lincoln City to the DW Stadium on Tuesday evening.

The hosts have struggled in front of their own fans recently, whilst the visitors have disappointed in League One so far after their successes last season.

Match preview

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After all of the off-the-pitch problems in recent years, and narrowly avoiding relegation to League Two by just a single point last campaign, Wigan are finally on the up again under manager Leam Richardson.

The Latics maintained their push for the automatic promotion places in League One by defeating AFC Wimbledon 2-0 at Plough Lane on Saturday, which saw them overtake Sunderland and gain ground on top-of-the-table Plymouth Argyle, after both slipped up in their fixtures.

After a fairly even encounter in the first half, Wigan took control of the second and overcame their hosts comfortably in the end, thanks to a quickfire double via an own goal and a James McClean strike in the space of five minutes shortly after half time.

That victory was their fifth in a row on the road in the league, since their opening day defeat at fellow promotion-hopefuls Sunderland.

However, Richardson will be eager for his side to pick up their home form in order to maintain a consistent run of results in the coming weeks.

Athletic have lost three of their last four in all competitions in front of their own supporters, which they will be looking to put right on Tuesday in order to keep pace with the top two.

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Meanwhile, after losing in the playoff final to Blackpool back in May, visitors Lincoln have failed to get over that disappointment in the new 2021-22 campaign so far.

The Imps find themselves down in a lowly 15th place heading into Tuesday's trip to Wigan, picking up just one win in their last six games in all competitions.

Saturday saw Michael Appleton's side take the game to their hosts Sheffield Wednesday in the first half, which they were not able to capitalise on.

They were made to pay shortly after half time, falling behind just 10 minutes into the second half with the home side regaining a more even share of the ball and creating the better opportunities.

It looked like Lincoln would be falling to back-to-back defeats as the game wore on, but defender Lewis Montsma came to the rescue with the equaliser 10 minutes from time to earn his side a point.

A tough trip to another promotion contender faces City on Tuesday, although this is unlikely to faze them considering they have an identical record away from home to that played on home soil in League One so far this campaign - picking up eight points from each.

Team News

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Wigan remain without midfielder Jordan Cousins after he picked up a hamstring injury in the derby win away at Bolton Wanderers recently.

It has kept Cousins out for the last two matches and he is expected to be unavailable for a number of weeks yet.

After naming an unchanged lineup at the weekend from the previous midweek match, Richardson may bring in Tom Pearce at right-back, which would shift Max Power back to his natural position of central midfield, and likely result in Tom Bayliss dropping out of the starting 11.

As for the visitors, 17-year-old Freddie Draper was handed his club debut at the weekend when he came on as a second-half substitute.

However, he will not be expected to feature from the start, but may make the bench again due to injury concerns ahead of Tuesday's trip.

Central defender Joe Walsh is expected to remain unavailable through injury so Appleton may stick with the same defence that performed well in Sheffield on Saturday, which is something he has been unable to do for most of the campaign due to various injuries in that department.

The important duo of Liam Bridcutt and Tom Hopper remain out in an injury-hit side, so an unchanged lineup is possible after a strong display at the weekend.

Wigan Athletic possible starting lineup:
Amos; Pearce, Whatmough, Watts, Darikwa; Naylor, Power; Lang, Keane, McClean; Wyke

Lincoln City possible starting lineup:
Griffiths; Poole, Montsma, Jackson, Robson; Sorensen, McGrandles, Bishop; Scully, Fiorini, Maguire

We say: Wigan Athletic 2-1 Lincoln City

Despite their home struggles of late, we expect Wigan to come out victorious on Tuesday thanks to their extra bit of quality they boast in their ranks.

Lincoln will likely prove to be a tough opponent, especially after their positive result and performance on Saturday, but the hosts will be expected to return to winning ways in front of their own supporters.

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