Wigan travel to Bolton in South Lancashire Derby

Last time between the two sides was an eventful one which saw Uwe Rosler claim his first win as Latics boss after the disappointing outcome in Maribor. Wigansurged ahead and went 2-0 up through Ben Watson from the spot and an acrobatic effort from Nick Powell. Wigan were pegged back after the break when Neil Danns got on the end of a cross and then Andre Moritz squared the game up at 2-2 from the spot. Callum McManaman got the last say however as Bolton failed to clear a corner where it fell to the FA Cup Final Man Of The Match for him to finish past Andy Lonergan and give Wigan the bragging rights at least until today.

Yossi Benayoun and QPR ended Wigan's 10 game unbeaten streak on Tuesday night after winning on 9 of those occasions, Wigan dominated large spells of the game but Rob Green was on hand to deny Latics taking home any sort of result but Uwe Rosler took positives from his teams performance after a busy March thus far:

"I think everybody in the stadium, when they are realistic, saw we should have got something out of that game.

The Latics are unbeaten in their last 3 trips to the Reebok Stadium winning the last of those trips 2-1 in Bolton's relegation season, after winning the earlier game 3-2 in December Uwe Rosler and his team will look to carry on that form but will not be complacent. Wigan will look to claim the double over their rivals for the first time in a while but I'm sure they will be wary of Bolton's recent attempt in a change in form.

Bolton meanwhile have had a rather disappointing season, it's been a rather up and down season for the Trotters from having a decent run of form winning 6 on the bounce earlier in the season to not winning in 10.Bolton fan Elliot Turnbull summarized his team's season for me:

Very poor. Had to wait until god knows when for our first win and then we're just inconsistent. We'll win 3 and get confident and every time Dougie lets us down although the 4.0 derby day win against Blackburn does give me some hope before today's game.

That comes from an honest Bolton fan's perspective. Bolton have won 4 of their last 8 only losing once in that time after only winning 2 out of 15 at the Reebok this season. This will surely be an interesting game for both teams for who has the bragging rights until these teams next play. Wigan's busy schedule could cause some fatigue in the squad whilst Bolton's inconsistency could cost them dearly, which will be the decider?

Team News:

Bolton- Alex Baptiste is available again after completing his one match suspension. New man Andy Robinson could make his debut for the club whilst Alan Hutton is in line to make his final appearance before heading back to parent club Aston Villa.

Wigan-  Scottish duo Gary Caldwell and Shaun Maloney could return today after long term injuries. Both travelled with the squad against QPR, Caldwell was named on the bench but both could feature today.

Predictions:

Anthony- Bolton 1-2 Wigan

Elliot- Bolton 2-1 Wigan

Odds- (PaddyPower)

Bolton- 7/4

Draw- 23/10

Wigan- 6/4 (fav)

Pick- HT/FT Bolton/Wigan @ 25/1

Other Fixtures:

Burnley vs Leicester

Birmingham vs Bournemouth

Brighton vs Middlesbrough

Derby vs Charlton

Ipswich vs Nottingham ForesT

Leeds vs Doncaster

Millwall vs Blackburn

QPR vs Blackpool

Reading vs Huddersfield

Sheffield Wednesday vs Watford

Yeovil vs Barnsley

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