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When Alex Neil arrived at the bet365 Stadium at the end of August, he was expected to get the most out of a talented squad with a place in the playoffs their target.
However, the Scot has recorded just three wins from 11 matches, suffering defeats in the last three to leave the Potters close to the drop zone.
Although Stoke currently occupy 19th spot, they are just five points clear of bottom-placed West Bromwich Albion, a consequence of losing 3-1 at Norwich City at the weekend.
The only plus from the trip to East Anglia was Nick Powell, who has recently returned from injury, scoring Stoke’s first goal in 294 minutes during the closing stages of the game.
The Staffordshire outfit now face a quartet of fixtures against teams currently no higher than ninth in the division, and Neil will appreciate that he can ill-afford more defeats at this stage of his reign.
Stoke City travel to the DW Stadium on Wednesday to face Championship hosts Wigan.
Wigan will be hoping to bounce back here after losing their Championship 1-0 against Watford. In this match, Wigan Athletic had 47% possession and attempted 1 shot. Watford, on the other hand, had 13 shots and 2 kicks. Joao Pedro (87′) scores for Watford.
Wigan Athletic have conceded very few goals recently. They will worry as Wigan Athletic have broken down the defense in 5 of their last 6 games and conceded 12 away goals. This trend won’t necessarily continue in the next game. Wigan Athletic join this game without a win in their last 2 home games.
Stoke City and their traveling fans were hoping for a better result after losing their last game against Norwich City in the Championship. In this match, “Stoke City” had 57% of the ball and made four shots on 17 targets. Nick Powell (92′) scores for Stoke City. Norwich City, on the other hand, attempted 16 shots, of which 9 were shots.
Aaron Ramsey (38′, 71′) and Gabriel Sara (77′) score for Norwich City. Looking at their form, Stoke City have scored in 5 of their last 6 matches and their opponents have scored a total of 8 goals. Defensively, Stoke City were not very strong. In this match, Stoke City have not won against Wigan Athletic in their last 7 away matches. It’s not good at all.
Wigan will be without Graeme Shinnie after the midfielder collected his fifth yellow card of the season at the weekend.
Tom Naylor appears most likely to be drafted into the midfield in his place, while Josh Magennis is pushing for a recall in attack.
Thelo Aasgaard is an option in a creative role if Richardson wants to add more creativity to his midfield.
Neil will inevitably make alterations to his Stoke side with Powell in line for his first start since his return from injury.
Jordan Thompson and Liam Delap are also in contention, while Aden Flint may be recalled to the backline ahead of Harry Clarke or Phil Jagielka.
Wigan Athletic possible starting lineup:
Jones; Kerr, Whatmough, Tilt; Darikwa, Power, Cousins, Naylor, McClean; Broadhead, Keane
Stoke City possible starting lineup:
Bursik; Wilmot, Jagielka, Flint, Fox; Baker, Thompson; Brown, Powell, Fosu-Henry; Delap
Despite beginning the new season relatively well, Wigan have endured some tough form as of late as they battle to survive in the Championship following promotion last season.
Leam Richardson’s men are winless in four and have won just one in their previous seven games, a 1-0 victory over Blackburn Rovers last month.
The Latics‘ last outing saw Watford take home all three points from the DW Stadium with a 1-0 win, leaving their hosts in 21st position with 19 points.
Stoke City are on identical points and win, draw and loss records to their hosts on Wednesday, a sign that things have not gone as planned so far this season in North Staffordshire.
Alex Neil’s side have not taken any points from their last three games, with a 3-1 loss at Norwich last time out only compounding their woes further.
The Potters also sit on 19 points, a place above Wigan in the table on goal difference
An injury crisis has hit Leam Richardson’s side in recent weeks, with goalkeeper Ben Amos the latest to be sidelined with a cracked rib that will see him out until after the World Cup.
The Latics are currently missing Charlie Wyke (hamstring), Ryan Nyambe (knee) and Callum Lang (ankle).
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Tom Pearce is not yet fit after getting injured playing for the youth team last week.
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Graeme Shinnie is unavailable after picking up his fifth booking of the season against Watford.
Stoke
Josh Tymon (ankle), Gavin Kilkenny (groin) and Dujon Sterling (ankle) are set to remain sidelined.
Tyrese Campbell missed his side’s trip to Norfolk with illness, so is likely to return the matchday squad this week.
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Harry Souttar has stepped up his recovery from a long-term ACL injury, playing a part in three u21 games in the last week.
He may play a part in the matchday squad but is unlikely to start a game yet.