Opposition Insight | Wigan Athletic

By Brad Saxton |  Images by Bernard Platt

Ahead of tonight’s Emirates FA Cup Second Round tie, we take a look at our opponents Wigan Athletic. 

The former Premier League side will take on the Minstermen for the first time since 1999, and they’ll be hoping to secure their name in the hat for the Third Round draw of the competition.  

The Lancashire-based side are on a good run of form of late, having only suffered one defeat in their last eleven games in all competitions. 

The 2013 FA Cup winners were handed an eight-point deduction at the start of the season in League One, but a good run of form of late has seen Wigan move out of the relegation zone to create a six point gap between themselves and the bottom four.  

In the last round of the cup, Wigan secured a 2-0 win over fellow League One side Exeter City which created this coming Friday’s tie against the Minstermen.  

Last time out

Tuesday night saw Wigan Athletic continue their recent unbeaten run in all competitions as a 3-0 win over Fleetwood Town at the DW Stadium saw them move up to 14th place in League One.  

Jordan Jones opened the scoring for the hosts after only four minutes, before a Jay Lynch own goal ensured Wigan led by two goals at the break. After going down to ten-men in the first-half, Fleetwood conceded a third goal of the evening in the second-half after Tom Pearce’s strike on the hour-mark to complete a resounding win for Wigan.  

Wigan Athletic (vs Fleetwood) (4-2-3-1): Tickle (GK); Clare (Shaw 78’), Hughes, Rekik, Pearce; Smith, Adeeko; Godo (Stones 78’), Lang (Sze 67’), Jones (McManaman 67’); Humphrys (Magennis 67’) 

Manager: Shaun Maloney

The former Scotland international became manager of Wigan Athletic earlier this year in January, having previously played for the club between 2011 and 2015.  

He was also part of the Wigan squad who beat Manchester City 1-0 at Wembley Stadium in the 2012/13 FA Cup final, as he provided the assist for Ben Watson’s winner in the cup finale.  

Prior to becoming manager at the DW Stadium, The 40-year-old previously managed Scottish Premiership side Hibernian between December 2021 and April 2022.  

During a successful playing career, Maloney started out at Scottish champions Celtic and made over 200 appearances for the club during two separate spells.  

As well as playing for Wigan, he made Premier League appearances for Aston Villa, before hanging up his boots in 2017 with Hull City.

Top Scorer: Stephen Humphrys

The forward originally came through the youth set-up at Premier League side Fulham, after being a prolific goalscorer for their U23 side during the 2016/17 campaign.  

Having played for a handful of clubs including Rochdale, Scunthorpe United and Southend United, the 26-year-old joined Wigan in the summer of 2021 and he was part of the side which won promotion to the Championship from League One. 

After spending last season on loan at Scottish Premiership side Hearts, he returned to the DW Stadium this summer and he stands as the club’s current top scorer having netted seven times so far this season.  

 

One to Watch: Thelo Aasgaard

Having not featured since Wigan’s win at Exeter City in the last round, he might once again miss out through injury. If he turns out on Friday evening, he’ll be the one to keep an eye on for the visitors.  

The Norwegian U21 international has become a regular feature in the Wigan Athletic starting eleven having broke through the club’s academy.  

Aasgaard has made well over 100 appearances for the club as the attacking midfielder has become a fan favourite at the DW Stadium. 

The 21-year-old has made eleven appearances for the club this season in League One, netting twice against Cambridge United and Charlton Athletic.  

He also netted one of Wigan’s goals in the last round during their 2-0 win at Exeter City last month.  

Head to Head

Friday’s game between the two sides will be the first encounter between the Minstermen and Wigan since 1999. 

Wigan have an impressive record against the Minstermen in the five most recent meetings, having won four games and drawn once.  

Both sides played each other in the old Second Division in the late nineties, but the Minstermen’s most recent victory over Wigan Athletic came as a 3-1 win on the 27th February 1988.