Wigan Athletic V Fulham

Sunday8^th November – 15:00 GMT

Wigan Athletic

League Position: 12^th

Recent League Form: WLDWL

If the form book is anything to go by then Wigan are due another win. There does seem to be a familiar pattern forming with Wigan as, more times than not, whenever Wigan win they follow it up with defeat and vice versa. They were beaten in a resounding manner last weekend so perhaps the Wigan fans are in for a thumping good win of their own this Saturday as Fulham come to The DW Stadium aiming to demolish Wigan’s three match unbeaten run at home.

Home is certainly where the hearts is for Wigan right now as their away form has taken a serious nosedive. It’s now four away defeats in five after they were spanked by a team rooted to the bottom of the table in Portsmouth, losing 4-0 at Fratton Park. Now, Wigan have been on the wrong end of some hammering this season, losing 5-0 at home to Man Utd, 4-0 away at Arsenal, but their 4-0 drubbing away at Portsmouth was not only their worst result of the season but also their worst performance as they were abysmal on the day. They didn’t show any quality in the final, their midfield looked dormant while their defence was non-existent.

However, now the Latics return home to a stadium where they haven’t lost in three outings. Their three match unbeaten run consists of two victories over West Ham (1-0) & Chelsea (3-1), (yes we aren’t making this up!), and a draw with Man City (1-1). The latter two games Wigan were extremely impressive in and if they can reproduce the displays in both then Roberto Martinez’s side should go very close to attaining all three points, what would be Wigan third home win of the season.

Fulham

League Position: 11^th

Recent League Form: LDWDW

Roy Hodgeson had the burden of a Europa League game in midweek so it’ll be interesting to see how the players who didn’t play in that encounter adjust after receiving the week off it would seem. Hodgeson has mentioned on several occasions that the league is Fulham’s main priority this season and we expect him to field a very strong team on Saturday, one that will be buoyed by their weekend success over Liverpool.

Fulham’s sensational 3-1 victory over the mighty Liverpool last Saturday stretched their unbeaten run in the league to four games. The cottagers have now picked up eight points from a possible 12 in that four game run, with two wins and two draws. However, both of their wins did come at Craven Cottage, whilst their draws came on the road but Fulham did manage to score a brace in both games so perhaps Roy Hodgeson will have high hopes of attaining much more then just the expected point.

For a team that generally suffer from homesickness, Fulham have been very impressive on the road, especially in front of goal. The fact that they’ve won just once on their travels in five outings isn’t much to write home about but their eight goal away tally is certainly eye-catching when you consider that they’ve scored in all but one of their away games thus far, scored four in two away outings and have found the net on three more occasions then they have done at home. However, even with their fine away goalscoring run in mind, their defensive frailties are apparent when on their travels as they may have score four in their last two away games but they’ve also shipped the same tally, as well.

Although Fulham have proved resilient on the road this season, we still couldn’t back them with any real confidence. It’s in their DNA to be a poor travelling side when in league action and their away frailties will shine through sooner or later. Still, we expect them to put up a fight for the points but perhaps this time it will be in vein.

Head-to-Head:

Wigan Athletic W: 2 Fulham W: 2 Draws: 4

Meetings between the two sides have generally been very tight affairs with often just a single goal separating the two after the final whistle. Encounters at The DW Stadium, which used to go by the JJB in the past, have been very full affairs, indeed. In four clashes at The DW, just three goals have been scored, 2 for Wigan and 1 for Fulham. The previous three meetings at Wigan have all finished in a draw, two being by a 0-0 score line whole the other finished 1-1.

The odds won’t be great but Under 2.5 Goals looks a fantastic call here. Wigan are hardly in sublime goal scoring while Fulham do tend to struggle when travelling. The Head-to-Head between the two clearly indicates that a goal-filled game at The DW Stadium just doesn’t exist.

Match Verdict: Wigan Athletic to WIN – 2.38 Bet365

A Wigan defeat is often followed by a Wigan win and we fancy that trend to continue this weekend at the expense of a travelling Fulham side. Wigan are unbeaten in three outings at home, even claiming the scalp of Chelsea, while Fulham will fancy their chances after two straight away draws at Man City & West Ham. However, Fulham were in action just a few days ago when they took to the stage in the Europa League, while Wigan have had a full week to digest their 4-0 thumping at Portsmouth last weekend and should have recovered by physically and mentally in time for the arrival of Roy Hodgeson’s Fulham.

Match Odds:

Wigan Athletic – 2.38 Bet365

Draw – 3.30 totesport

Fulham – 3.35 Expekt,com

 Update: The result of Wigan v Fulham was 1-1 (goals by Boyce; Dempsey)