Cardiff vs Wigan prediction: ENGLAND: Championship betting tips on match 2023-01-13 15:00.
Mark Hudson hopes Cardiffâs confidence-boosting 2-2 draw against top-flight Leeds in the FA Cup can be the catalyst to turn around their season despite the fact they squandered a 2-0 lead. The Bluebirds are languishing just two points above the Championship relegation zone, but their boss believes they can now âkick onâ and end a run of eight matches without a win (D5, L3) as they take on bottom club Wigan in what has the feel of a relegation âsix-pointerâ.
Cardiff were particularly potent in the final third against Leeds, scoring more than once in a home match for only the second time in fifteen attempts this season. Having failed to score in over five hours of Championship play, that attacking fluency found against Leeds now needs to be transferred to the league, and despite their total of 20 league goals being the lowest in the division, three came in the reverse H2H (W 3-1) which should fuel belief they will be back on the goal trail here.
The arrival of the Championshipâs worst defence should therefore give Cardiff a boost, as Wigan have already conceded 46 times in the league this season, a dozen of which have come across three successive 4-1 defeats. Indeed, there has been no honeymoon period for new boss Kolo TourĂ©, who is yet to win any of his six games in charge (D2, L4), though they have at least proved entertaining for the neutral, with all six seeing both teams score.
The former Arsenal defender is urging worried fans to âkeep the faithâ as he tries to stave off an immediate return to League One. If anything can give those supporters confidence, it will be that the Latics have picked up more points on the road than at home this season, managing a more than respectable four victories from 12 away league outings (D3, L5), although the most recent of those came way back in early October when Leam Richardson was still in charge.
Players to watch: Cardiffâs Callum OâDowda has only lost once in five H2H meetings with Wigan (W3, D1) and has seen his last three club goals serve as game openers. That is a better H2H record than Will Keane, who has never beaten the Bluebirds in four attempts (D2, L2) but is the Laticsâ top scorer with nine strikes this season, scoring the first or last of the game in seven of those goalscoring appearances.
Hot stat: Cardiffâs 13 home matches this season average 1.62 goals per game – the lowest in the Championship.