Bristol City vs Wigan Athletic | Championship Preview
Shaun Maloney has picked up four points from a possible six, including two clean sheets, in his start to life as Wigan Athletic manager. Our trip to Ashton Gate won't be easy, but we're ready to fight
Match Overview
Next up for Wigan Athletic is a game against Bristol City who sit 13th in the Sky Bet Championship with 39 points.
They are managed by Nigel Pearson, since February 22nd 2021, and so far this season they have played 30 matches in the League, winning 10, drawing 9, and losing 11. Overall, Bristol City have scored 40, conceded 39, creating a goal difference of 1, and kept 8 clean sheets.
At Ashton Gate this season, they have played 16, won 6, drawn 4, and lost 6, scoring 20, conceding 17, and keeping 6 clean sheets. Overall, they have picked up 22 of their 39 points at home.
Away from home this season, they have played 14, won 4, drawn 5, and lost 5, scoring 20, conceding 22, and keeping 2 clean sheets. Overall, they have picked up 17 of their 39 points on the road.
Over their most recent six League matches, Bristol City have won 3, drawn 3, and lost 0. In that same period, they have scored 9, conceded 5, and kept 2 clean sheets.
December 29th / Millwall 0 - 0 Bristol City
January 1st / Coventry City 1 - 1 Bristol City
January 14th / Bristol City 4 - 2 Birmingham City
January 21st / Bristol City 1 - 1 Blackburn Rovers
February 2nd / Preston North End 1 - 2 Bristol City
February 11th / Bristol City 1 - 0 Norwich City
Wigan Athletic sit 22nd in the Sky Bet Championship with 29 points.
Latics are managed by Shaun Maloney, since January 28th 2023, and so far this season we have played 30 matches in the League, winning 7, drawing 8, and losing 15.
Overall, Wigan have scored 28, conceded 49, creating a goal difference of -21, and kept 6 clean sheets.
At the DW this season, we have played 16, won 3, drawn 3, and lost 10, scoring 12, conceding 30, and keeping 3 clean sheets. Overall, Latics have picked up 12 of our 29 points at home.
Away from home this season, we have played 14, won 4, drawn 5, and lost 5, scoring 16, conceding 19, and keeping 3 clean sheets. Latics have picked up 17 of our 29 points on the road.
Over our most recent six League matches, Wigan have won 1, drawn 2, and lost 3. In that same period, we have scored 4, conceded 11, and kept 2 clean sheets.
December 29th / Wigan Athletic 1 - 4 Sunderland
January 2nd / Wigan Athletic 1 - 4 Hull City
January 14th / Cardiff City 1 - 1 Wigan Athletic
January 21st / Wigan Athletic 0 - 2 Luton Town
February 6th / Blackburn Rovers 0 - 0 Wigan Athletic
February 11th / Wigan Athletic 1 - 0 Huddersfield Town
The Reverse Fixture
On August 13th 2022, Wigan Athletic hosted Bristol City at the DW Stadium. The fixture was our third Championship game of the season, following a 0-0 draw at home to Preston North End and a 1-1 draw at Carrow Road against Norwich City.
Overall, the game was a tight affair, with Latics the ones to edge the stats with 58% of possession and recording 13 attempts to City’s 5. The game ended in a 1-1 draw after Will Keane’s 67th-minute equaliser ruled out Andreas Weimann’s 6th-minute goal.
You can watch the highlights of the game here:
Who to Watch: Bristol City
Narrowing the list of top attacking performers down to just five was tough when it comes to Bristol City. Whilst they only have 10 different goal-scorers this season, only three of them have scored a single goal, and there are four players who have provided 10 assists between them despite not scoring.
There is also a player who I have not included in this list who we do need to talk about, but more on them later…
Top of the list is 32-year-old centre forward, Nakhi Wells, after scoring 9 and assisting 4 in the opening 29 fixtures. The Bermudan forward is a highly experienced Championship player, totaling 334 appearances, 92 goals, and 31 assists. Wells has over a century of features for Bradford City (112), Bristol City(136), and Huddersfield Town (153). The forward will certainly be looking to reach his tenth League goal of the season, and close in on 100 total at this level of football.
At 20 years of age, Scottish forward, Tommy Conway, is certainly a young player with high potential. Conway graduated through Bristol City’s Academy, and since his debut in senior football, the forward has scored 10 goals and provided 5 assists in 41 games for the side. This season, Conway has scored 6 and provided 3 assists, albeit 5 goals and 2 assists came in the opening 15 games of the season, however, has not featured in their recent four games after an injury sustained at Coventry City.
Andreas Weimann is another highly experienced Championship player and is closing in on his 300th game with 290 to his name so far. The Austrian joined from Derby County in July 2018, and has scored 62 goals with 36 assists throughout his time in the Second Tier, 48 goals and 27 assists in 178 games wearing the Bristol City colours. The 31-year-old has only managed 11 minutes of football over the last two games after missing out on two match-day squads with a knock.
A name you may have heard this season, after attracting Premier League Clubs interest, is 19-year-old rising talent, Alex Scott. The Guernsey-born midfielder joined Bristol City U18s in January 2020, and made the step up to senior-level football in July 2021. The right-footed playmaker has won international caps with England U18, U19, and U20 appearances, and now has reached 70 games in the Championship with 4 goals and 7 assists overall. This season, Scott hasn’t registered a goal yet, however, has provided 5 assists with the first three coming in the opening 15 games and two in the recent 15.
If you are a follower of League One football, there is no doubt you will have heard the name: Mark Sykes. After featuring 136 times for Oxford United, tallying 11 goals and 21 assists, the 25-year-old made the step up to Bristol City in July 2022 on a free transfer and in his first Championship season has scored 4 and provided 1 assist in 24 games. All four of those goals have come in their recent four games and the Irishman is certainly finding his feet at this level.
Now, a player that I could not include on the top 5 list but is still a big threat is 25-year-old, Cameron Pring. Like Conway, Pring graduated through the Bristol City Academy, however, the left back has spent most of his career to date out on loan at clubs such as; Merthyr Town, Aldershot, Hereford, Newport County, Cheltenham, Walsall, and Portsmouth. The Englishman has a total of 48 Championship games to his name, with 1 goal and 5 assists recorded, however, was only involved twice in City’s first 15 games this season. Since the midway point to now, Pring has featured in a further 14 games, registering 1 goal and 4 assists with 13 full games played. Pearson looks to have unlocked the potential in his defender.
Team Selection
Shaun Maloney had four and a half days from our Monday night trip to Ewood Park to hosting Huddersfield Town at the DW on Saturday afternoon. The latest four and a half days between then and our kickoff at Ashton Gate on Wednesday night, which comes two and a half days before hosting Norwich City at the DW, may mean that we see some rotation in this first fixture to keep the squad fresh.
Ben Amos has kept two clean sheets in his four appearances back in the side after a rib injury, taking his total to five clean sheets in 17 appearances this season, conceding 21 goals. As long as our Number 12 is fit and well for the game, I see no reason why he should not start.
Against Huddersfield, Maloney chose a back three of Charlie Hughes, Jack Whatmough, and Ryan Nyambe. There was hope that Omar Rekik would be back fit in time for the game, however, the Gaffer gave him until the last minute and the fitness test was not passed. Should the Tunisian be ready to play again, our back three could set up as Hughes, Whatmough, and Rekik. Despite Martin Kelly and Jason Kerr being ruled out for the season, we still have depth in Steven Caulker and Curtis Tilt, with Ryan Nyambe and Tom Pearce also able to fill in if needed despite being traditional full-backs.
Should we remain with the 3-4-2-1 formation, our wingbacks may see some rotation based on the fact we play Norwich so soon after this one. Pearce looked dangerous when crossing from the left, and Nyambe put in a good shift on the right as the game went on. Seeing these two start would be no surprise, and would allow Dariwka and McClean a rest before Norwich City at the DW - the latter who has recently become a father for the fourth time and naturally may need a rest.
Our midfield duo is also an area that could see some freshness rotation. Max Power has played every minute of our 30 games so far, 2700 minutes in total, however, has looked much better in his performances recently with his new partner, Christ Tiéhi. If we are to see a different setup in the middle of the park, we could see the inclusion of Tom Naylor or Miguel Azeez. Jordan Cousins is likely to remain out with a hamstring injury, sustained against Cardiff City on January 14th.
Bristol City will be the last time we see Danel Sinani in a Wigan Athletic side until Saturday 25th February, as he is unable to play against his parent club, Norwich City, this coming weekend. The forward has featured twice so far, 66 minutes against Blackburn and 59 minutes against Huddersfield, and is likely to start again at Ashton Gate on Wednesday night. Will Keane and Callum Lang have been well favoured so far this season, for good reason, however, I would not be surprised to see a change in our forward line. Thelo Aasgaard is in line for more minutes and potentially a start, Charlie Wyke is no doubt raring to go, and we still have Ashley Fletcher, Josh Magennis, and Anthony Scully available for selection.
Whoever Shaun Maloney decides to start, it will for sure be a decision made with one eye on the Norwich game at the weekend, but I do not doubt that the Gaffer will still select a team that he feels is worthy of beating Bristol City, and is based strongly off performances in training this week.
My thoughts on Bristol City v Wigan Athletic
If you told me on Tuesday 11th October, the night we beat Blackburn 1-0 at the DW, that we were about to embark on a five-game losing streak, 12 losses in total to now, only able to pick up just 11 points from two wins and five draws, about to watch the sacking of Leam Richardson, the hiring and firing of Kolo Touré within 9 games, plummet to the base of the Championship, appoint Shaun Maloney and then still be excited for a Wednesday night trip to Bristol City, I would have told you to give your head a wobble. But here we are. I am absolutely buzzing for it.
Shaun Maloney just gets it. He gets the club, he gets the supporters, he gets the players, he gets the staff he works with, and arguably the most important thing, he gets the fight we are up against. To come in and pick up four points from a possible six, keep two clean sheets, and instill such a belief in this squad that we now look like we could give most teams a big fight, is a real testament to the Scotsman.
Look, we could travel to Ashton Gate with confidence and travel back to Wigan debriefing a loss. But that is ok. We are a dog in the fight and on a 16-game journey to the end of the season. There are three points on offer here, but then there are a further 45 on offer after this one, so if we don’t pick up any here then there are many more chances at collecting points.
That said, I am confident that we can go there and pick up another win, but for sure it won’t be easy. My prediction is a 2-1 win for the Latics. Here’s to hoping!
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Thank you for reading!
Charlie Keegan / Central Wigan
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