Since this article was published, this game has been called off due to a coronavirus outbreak in the Accrington squad. A new date for the game will be confirmed in due course.
Having been sidelined for a fortnight, Wigan Athletic look to get their League One promotion push back on track when they host mid-table Accrington Stanley on New Year's Day.
While the third-placed home side have not played since beating Oxford United in mid-December, their visitors have picked up two wins and a draw from their last three games.
Match preview
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Riding high in the League One standings entering 2022, Wigan's festive schedule so far has been obliterated by postponements due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Wednesday's visit of Fleetwood Town was cancelled due to an outbreak in the visitors' camp after the Latics had previously been forced to call off their Boxing Day trip to Crewe.
Therefore, Leam Richardson's men have not been in action since edging out Oxford on December 18, when Republic of Ireland winger James McClean grabbed a late winner in a 3-2 victory at the Kassam Stadium.
Nonetheless, the Lancashire outfit remain unbeaten in their last seven League One matches, and they sit just two points behind leaders Rotherham United - with two games in hand - approaching the second half of the campaign.
Should their opponents be cleared to play on Saturday, they will now face a side they crushed 4-1 when the pair met in Accrington back in September, having gone two goals up inside 18 minutes.
Their Lancastrian counterparts have managed to stabilise themselves since then, but as in-form promotion chasers, Wigan will be favourites to complete the double at the DW Stadium.
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Amid a backdrop of uncertainty which has befallen so many clubs in recent weeks, Accrington Stanley manager John Coleman has commended his players for ploughing on through, as they have managed to keep playing during the festive period despite widespread illness at the club.
Question marks therefore remain over Stanley's trip to Wigan this weekend, but they nonetheless approach the fixture in good spirits following some fine results of late.
Since slipping out of the EFL Trophy to Saturday's opponents back in November, Coleman's men have won three and drawn one of their five subsequent games, including an excellent Boxing Day win over League One leaders Rotherham, who had previously gone 21 matches unbeaten.
They followed that success - which marked 20 years at the helm for Coleman, across two spells - with a goalless draw at Shrewsbury on Wednesday, and have now racked up 10 wins and as many defeats from their 24 league fixtures this term.
Leaving them 11 points adrift of Wigan, having played three games more, modest Accrington are unlikely contenders for the playoff places, but will put up a stern fight in their pursuit of promotion to the Championship for the first time - and will no doubt make life difficult for the Latics.
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Team News
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Even if the COVID-19 cases and injuries in their squad have started to subside, it remains unclear how many of Wigan's affected players will be available to start this weekend.
Head coach Leam Richardson will therefore closely assess the fitness of his returning men, but an XI similar to that which started the win at Oxford is to be expected.
Therefore, top scorer Will Keane - currently on 10 League One goals for the campaign - should start up front, with support from James McLean and Gavin Massey out wide. Max Power - like McLean, a goalscorer last time out - will feature in midfield.
Accrington have also been afflicted by ill health in their camp, and earlier this week had five players out with COVID-19 and another four suffering from illnesses. John Coleman suggested that several of his squad played the full 90 minutes against Shrewsbury despite struggling with their breathing, so some may be ruled out at the DW Stadium.
If sufficiently fit and well, Colby Bishop is set to lead the line for the visitors, while Liam Coyle starts in the engine room. Teenage winger Jovan Malcolm is also a contender to feature, as he continues his loan spell from West Bromwich Albion.
Meanwhile, Stanley striker Dion Charles is understood to be close to signing a deal with Bolton, after being largely sidelined by Coleman this season.
Wigan Athletic possible starting lineup:
Amos; Darikwa, Whatmough, Tilt, Bennett; Naylor, Power; Massey, Lang, McClean; Keane
Accrington Stanley possible starting lineup:
Savin; Clark, Sykes, Nottingham, Hamilton; Butcher, Leigh, Coyle; Malcolm, Bishop, McConville
We say: Wigan Athletic 1-0 Accrington Stanley
While Wigan could be a touch rusty after such an unwanted layoff, they certainly retain the edge in quality over Accrington, who are never the most secure defensively and have problems of their own.
Though they managed to secure a point last time out despite depleted resources and illness sweeping through the camp, the visitors will surely not be able to replicate that showing and will come up short.
Top tip
Jonathan O'Shea
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 69.34%. A draw had a probability of 19% and a win for Accrington Stanley had a probability of 11.69%.
The most likely scoreline for a Wigan Athletic win was 2-0 with a probability of 13%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-0 (12.32%) and 2-1 (9.5%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (9%), while for an Accrington Stanley win it was 0-1 (4.27%). The actual scoreline of 3-0 was predicted with a 9.1% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole and our data analysis both correctly predicted that Wigan Athletic would win this match.
