Wigan vs Hull prediction: ENGLAND: Championship betting tips on match 2023-01-01 15:00.
Just four games into his first stint as a manager, Kolo Touré leads strugglers Wigan into another Championship contest at the DW Stadium looking for his first win (D1, L3) after watching his side slip to the bottom of the league standings last time out. A 4-1 thrashing by Sunderland marked consecutive home losses and was possibly hard to swallow for the Ivorian, with the boss stating that Wigan "are not a team that just defend".
No clean sheet in their last 12 league outings means some may feel Touré should put more onus on defence, where he starred for Arsenal and became an ‘Invincible', with the Latics also failing to keep a shutout in six consecutive Championship home contests. For those who believe in omens, the last time Wigan went six or more home league games without a shutout was back in the 2019/20 campaign, when they eventually suffered relegation to League One!
Having just lost twice to north east sides, the Latics might not relish the visit of Hull City, particularly as the travellers arrive fresh from a 1-0 victory over Birmingham City that moved them five points clear of the relegation zone. The Tigers have only lost once since Liam Rosenior took charge in November (W2, D4) and are yet to lose on their travels under his stewardship (W2, D2), with the boss declaring he "was delighted with every aspect" of their latest win.
Only Wigan (42) have conceded more league goals than Hull (41) ahead of this round however, which is more than they’ve conceded in any campaign after 25 games since 2017/18! This vulnerability at the back that both sides suffer from, combined with a whopping 49 goals across the last 12 H2Hs, could make for a blockbuster affair to open the new year.
Key battle: Wigan defender Curtis Tilt has lost all three of his games against these opponents and may want revenge against Hull striker Óscar Estupiñán, who netted in the latest of those defeats (2-1). The Tigers forward arrives fresh from scoring in consecutive league games, with both strikes arriving in the 78th minute.
Hot streak: Wigan have conceded first in five consecutive Championship home games (W1, L4).