Rotherham vs Wigan prediction: ENGLAND: Championship betting tips on match 2022-09-30 14:00.
After Paul Warne led Rotherham United to their best start to a Championship season this century by points earned (W3, D5, L1), the club is entering an uncertain period courtesy of Warne’s immediate departure for Derby County. Warne’s entire staff followed him to Pride Park, which has left Rotherham scrambling for a caretaker to lead them against fellow Championship returnees Wigan Athletic. Chairman Tony Stewart has not guaranteed finding a permanent manager in time for this fixture, stating: "There is no set time frame for an appointment … it will be right when it's right.”
The new gaffer will inherit a side yet to lose at home this Championship season (W3, D2) with the immediate task of securing them three consecutive league clean sheets at this level for the first time in the 21st century. Their home League One encounter with Wigan last season produced a 1-1 result, and with the teams separated by just one Championship point during the international break, they still appear to be at a similar place in their respective resurgences.
Wigan Athletic manager Leam Richardson used just one word to assess his side’s mid-table position at the arrival of the international break: “okay”. His public cautioning of his players a week prior not to “get carried away” following away wins at Luton and Huddersfield was vindicated when Reading came to Wigan and turned the tables on them with a 1-0 result. It was Wigan’s fourth consecutive Championship game that the pre-match favourite on the day failed to win (D1, L3).
The Latics were League One’s strongest travelling club of 2021/22, averaging an impressive 2.09 points per game, so it should come as no surprise that their three Championship wins of this campaign have been earned from their three most recent away trips, setting them up to again potentially be one of the most formidable visiting sides in this competition.
Players to watch: Expect Rotherham’s Chiedozie Ogbene to be amongst the action early, as all five of his goalscoring appearances in 2022/23 competitions have seen him on the sheet before half-time. Meanwhile, Wigan forward Josh Magennis is flying high after securing Northern Ireland’s maiden UEFA Nations League win with a 93rd minute header – a goal he himself described as “massive”.
Hot stat: Rotherham remain the only club yet to concede inside the first 30 minutes this Championship season (6:0).