Leicester Cityvs
Wigan AthleticLeicester City are in a strange place right now. A club that was playing Champions League football not so long ago, now grinding out Tuesday nights in League One against the likes of Wigan Athletic. But that is the reality of back-to-back relegations, and this fixture matters more than the modest billing suggests. Russell Martin needs a performance and a result. The pressure has been building since that 4-0 hammering by Oxford United back in September, and Saturday’s late defeat at Luton will have done nothing to calm the nerves around the King Power Stadium. Three points here against a struggling Wigan side feels almost like a minimum requirement.
Wigan arrive in genuinely desperate shape. Bottom of League One, seven points from eleven games, and a goal return so thin that Joe Taylor alone had more goals for Huddersfield than the entire Latics squad had managed before last weekend. Gary Caldwell is fighting fires from every direction, and a trip to a Leicester side with genuine quality in the third tier is about as tough as it gets for a team with no momentum and mounting absences.
Leicester City vs Wigan Athletic Match Details
This Sky Bet League One fixture takes place at the King Power Stadium, a ground that has hosted Premier League and European football but now finds itself the setting for third-tier survival battles and managerial pressure cookers. Leicester are in their first League One season since 2008 to 2009, which tells you everything about how dramatic the recent decline has been. Wigan make the journey north knowing that anything other than a defeat would be considered a genuine surprise.
Team News
Both managers are dealing with headaches going into this one, with suspensions causing the bigger selection problems rather than the injury list alone.
- John Lundstram is suspended after his second yellow card at Luton and will miss this game entirely. William Smallbone is expected to step into central midfield in his place.
- Jayden Joseph, Jakub Stolarczyk and Ben Nelson remain unavailable, which means Will Alves continues at wing-back rather than further forward.
- Conor Chaplin and Wes Burns are options from the bench, with Burns back after illness. Liam Cullen scored at Luton and could force his way back into the starting eleven after coming off the bench there.
- Bobby De Cordova-Reid is another option in attack if Martin wants to shake things up.
- For Wigan, Fraser Murray is serving the second match of a three-game ban after his red card at Oxford United.
- Graeme Gray picks up a one-match ban after collecting his fifth yellow card of the season at Huddersfield.
- James Carragher returns after missing the Oxford game through suspension, which is a boost for Caldwell’s defence.
- Luke Harris and Ryan Trevitt remain long-term absentees, and Max Power is a doubt. Caldwell himself was banned from the touchline at Huddersfield and David Perkins took charge from the technical area.
Predicted Lineups
Martin looks likely to keep faith with a similar structure to recent weeks, with Smallbone the key change in the engine room. With Cullen having found the net from the bench at Luton, there is a strong case for handing him a start alongside Kasey McAteer or Sam Riis in attack. The back line should remain settled, with Souttar and Okoli providing experience at the heart of defence.
Leicester: McCarthy; O’Hora, Souttar, Okoli; Alves, Page, Smallbone, Thomas; Braybrooke, Cullen; Riis
Caldwell has very little to work with in terms of selection flexibility. Carragher returns which helps at the back, but losing both Murray and Gray from his midfield options is a real blow. Saydee and Hogan lead the attack, and the hope will be that Saydee can carry on the form he showed when he came off the bench against Reading to set up the winning goal.
Wigan: Whitworth; Fox, Carragher, Burns; Barrett, Weir, Walsh, Burrowes, A. Harris; Saydee, Hogan
Recent Form
Leicester’s form is erratic enough to keep Martin’s seat warm. Four wins, three draws and four defeats from eleven League One games, with seventeen goals scored and seventeen conceded. That goal difference tells you something important: this is not a side shutting teams out, and not a side blowing teams away either. The recent purple patch of back-to-back wins before Saturday looked like a turning point, but Luton ended it with a stoppage time winner that will have stung. The 4-0 away win at Bromley midweek before that showed what Martin’s squad is capable of against lower-level opposition, but the step up to League One regulars remains inconsistent.
Wigan’s form is simply alarming. Two wins, one draw, eight defeats. They have conceded far more than they have scored, and the manner of recent losses tells its own story. The Oxford game ended with ten men and a defeat after going level. At Huddersfield on Saturday, they actually took a lead through Bronkhorst before being pegged back and then beaten in the 80th minute. That is the story of Wigan’s season in miniature: they get themselves into positions and then cannot hold on.
The one genuinely bright moment was the 1-0 home win over Reading when Scott Hogan got the goal. But one win in the last five league games, with all three of those losses coming on the road, does not suggest a side capable of getting anything from this trip. Wigan have taken just one point from six away league games all season.
Head-to-Head Record
These two sides have not met in a competitive league fixture since April 2014, when a 2-2 draw at the DW Stadium was the result. More recently, the clubs met in the FA Cup third round in January 2020, with Leicester running out comfortable 2-0 winners at the King Power Stadium through a Tom Pearce own goal and a Harvey Barnes strike. The gap in quality between the clubs at that point was enormous, and while both find themselves in League One now, Leicester still carry considerably more firepower.
The lack of recent meetings makes head-to-head data less useful than usual here. What is relevant is that when these clubs last shared a ground, Leicester were comfortable. And the context of this match, a strong home favourite against a side rooted to the bottom of the table, points in the same direction.
Key Stats
- Wigan have taken just one point from six away League One games this season, making them among the worst travelling sides in the division.
- Leicester have lost three of their five home league games at the King Power Stadium, which is the only real caution flag for backing the hosts.
- Wigan have scored eight goals in eleven league games, fewer than a goal per game on average, while Leicester have both Sam Riis with four and Liam Cullen with three already showing decent returns in the third tier.
Leicester City vs Wigan Athletic Betting Tips
Leicester should win this. The logic is straightforward: Wigan cannot score, cannot win away from home, and arrive here missing key players through suspension. The only genuine concern is Leicester’s shaky home record, which adds a layer of uncertainty. But the quality gap between these squads feels real enough to back the Foxes to edge it, probably without a clean sheet given how open both sides have been this season.
Both Teams To Score (BTTS) Prediction
Yes, lean towards both teams finding the net. Leicester have conceded in most of their home games this season, and Wigan, despite their limited output, have shown they can grab a goal even in losing causes. Saydee and Hogan are not prolific but they are a threat, and with Lundstram missing from the Leicester midfield the defensive cover could be a fraction thinner than usual.
Corners Prediction
Expect a high corners count. Leicester are likely to dominate possession and territory, forcing Wigan to defend deep and clear their lines repeatedly. A Leicester side that gets bodies forward and plays with width through the wing-backs should generate plenty of set-piece opportunities. Over 9.5 corners in the match looks reasonable given how one-sided the territorial picture could be.
First Goalscorer Prediction
Sam Riis is the pick here. Four league goals already this season puts him ahead of any Wigan player individually, and with Wigan likely to sit deep and invite pressure, a striker sharp enough to punish the first real opening is exactly what Riis looks like. He has the instinct for it and the confidence right now.
Cards Prediction
Wigan are likely to pick up at least one booking as they scrap to stay in the game. A side under pressure, playing away from home, already missing players to suspension and accumulation bans, tends to sail close to the wind in these fixtures. Back over 3.5 cards in the match as frustration builds for the visitors and Leicester push for goals.
Correct Score Prediction
A 2-1 Leicester win feels right. The home side have the firepower to score twice, Wigan’s away record is dreadful, but the Latics have shown they can nick a consolation in games they are losing. Given Leicester’s home form has not been convincing, a narrow win rather than a rout seems the most likely outcome.
Over and Under Goals Prediction
Over 2.5 goals. Both sides have been involved in high-scoring games throughout the season, neither defence is especially solid, and Leicester will push hard for goals after Saturday’s frustrating late defeat. Wigan have shown they can contribute to the scoreline even in losses. Three goals in this game feels more likely than not.
Bet Builder Tip
| Market | Selection |
|---|---|
| Match Result | Leicester City to Win |
| Both Teams To Score | Yes |
| First Goalscorer | Sam Riis |
Riis opening the scoring in a game where Leicester win but Wigan nick one back fits the pattern of how this season has gone for both clubs, and combines the most confident angles from this preview into a single ticket.
Final Match Prediction
Leicester should get the job done here. Wigan simply do not have enough going forward to cause serious damage to a League One side with genuine quality in the squad, and their away form this season has been genuinely bad. The pressure on Russell Martin to deliver at home makes this a fixture Leicester will be fully focused on, and with Riis and Cullen as options in attack they have the tools to break Wigan down.
The caveat, and it is worth repeating, is that the King Power Stadium has not been the fortress Martin would have wanted it to be. Three home defeats in five is not a platform for confidence. But against a Wigan side rooted to the bottom, this feels like the right occasion to put that record right. Leicester City 2-1 Wigan Athletic.
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