Blackpool vs Wigan prediction: ENGLAND: Championship betting tips on match 2023-04-14 14:00.
The end could be nigh for the Championship’s bottom two Blackpool and Wigan Athletic after Easter Monday defeats kept survival well out of reach with just five rounds remaining. Losses for relegation rivals Reading and Cardiff on the same day did little to boost hopes with a sizeable gap to safety remaining for each, and another defeat here would almost certainly condemn the loser to a League One campaign in 2023/24.
Interim Blackpool manager Stephen Dobbie praised a “fantastic” response from his players just two days after his appointment despite the ignominy of overseeing Blackpool’s second loss of the Championship season in which they led during the game. He attributed conceding a first-half equaliser in the loss to Luton Town (3-1) as responsible for the end result, and given their last two half-time leads were converted into wins, he’s probably right!
After four straight losses with 3+ goals conceded in each, Blackpool may find some relief from facing the only remaining club yet to score more than twice in a Championship game this season. Wigan have had the opposite issue lately as they stare down the barrel of relegation; last round’s 2-0 loss at home to Swansea was the first of five league games in which they conceded multiple goals, but a 20th straight in which they had a 0 or a 1 next to their name on the scoresheet.
There was immediate hope in February after a change of manager, and again last month when their defence was sound enough to deliver some perceived crucial league points, but as new boss Shaun Maloney admitted following Monday’s loss, “there’s a lot more work to do”. With six of their eight Championship wins coming against clubs ranked 17th or lower going into this round (W6, D1, L3) – including against Blackpool – this contest and upcoming ones against both Reading and Rotherham could be their path to an unlikely survival.
Players to watch: Josh Bowler was Blackpool’s only goalscorer in their previous home outing as part of an experimental front three, and may be forced to start there again due to injuries. Meanwhile, James McClean was Wigan’s last Championship away scorer, he also netted their first in the reverse H2H (W 2-1).
Hot streak: In each of Wigan’s last 16 Championship fixtures, either one or neither team scored in the first half.