Wigan vs Preston prediction: ENGLAND: Championship betting tips on match 2022-07-29 14:00.
Squad improvements for newly-promoted Wigan have been minimal, yet despite that, they may fancy their chances of making a bright start here given the winning mentality instilled following last seasonâs triumphant League One promotion campaign. Theyâll also take confidence from winning their opening game at the DW Stadium in their last two Championship seasons, scoring six times across that sequence.
Quite a few of Wiganâs players haven't played at this level before, but this is far from a disadvantage according to midfielder James McClean who stated that âthere's no fearâ amongst the squad. Looking to pick up where they left off, the Latics did go unbeaten in six of their last seven home league games to round off last season (W4, D2, L1), but they did lose their previous two H2Hs against Preston North End.
Itâs also been a quiet summer in terms of transfers for Preston, but they have moved up a gear this week with the loan of two talented young players: Tottenhamâs Troy Parrott, and Man Unitedâs Ălvaro FernĂĄndez. Preston will be facing the reigning League One champions in round one for the second season in a row here, though theyâll be hoping for a better result than their 4-1 thrashing at the hands of Hull City in 2021/22.
Although the Lilywhites won their final away league game of 2021/22, poor starts to the season have been a recent problem and theyâve lost their opening game in the last three Championship campaigns. Therefore, manager Ryan Lowe knows this will be one area to improve as he embarks on his first full campaign in charge at this level.
Players to watch: If League Oneâs top scorer from last season, Wiganâs Will Keane, can find the net it could be a great sign for the home side as they won 20 of the 23 club games he scored in last term! Also aiming to pick up where he left off last season is Emil Riis, who scored three goals across Prestonâs final two league games of 2021/22, each time as the gameâs last scorer.
Hot stat: Five of the previous six Championship H2Hs have witnessed the opening goal scored within 20 minutes.