Wigan Athletic are another team like Brighton who have had a poor campaign to date in the Sky Bet Championship. Uwe Rosler was looking to build on an unsuccessful play-off campaign last season by gaining promotion this. Wigan were one of the favorites for promotion at the beginning of the season. However, Rosler endured what was a very slow start to the season, Wigan were a completely different team to the one which we saw at the end of last season. Under Rosler's management this season, Wigan achieved three wins, seven draws and seven defeats. This left Wigan placed 21st in the table, and with major fears of relegation. Rosler was replaced by controversial manager Malky Mackay. It caused Wigan chairman Dave Whelan all sorts of problems in appointing him which involved in himself being branded as a 'racist'. Mackay has failed to have much of an impact since taking charge, and Wigan's form has arguably got worse. Since he has taken the reigns, he has achieved one win, three draws and eight defeats. This is an even worse record than Rosler had at the beginning of the season. This has resulted in Mackay taking Wigan from 21st place in the table down to 23rd place, which is not good reading for Wigan fans. Wigan now look to be in a desperate situation, where League 1 looks the most likely destination. In comparison, Forest now appear like they could be on the up again after Dougie Freedman won his first match in charge against Brighton on Saturday. This leaves Forest 13 points off the play-offs, with a lot to do if they still want to achieve promotion this season. However, playing Wigan at home is a massive opportunity for Freedman and his men to get another three points and really build confidence. It is very important that Forest put on a good performance for the home crowd who have only seen four wins at home all season.
Henri Lansbury celebrates after putting Forest 2-1 up against Brighton at the AMEX Stadium at the weekend.
Forest have no fresh injury concerns from their game at Brighton at the weekend. However, Freedman has stated that this game has come too soon for Michael Mancienne who is still recovering from injury. The only other long-term absentees are Andy Reid and Chris Cohen. Apart from those three, Freedman has a fully fit squad to choose from. He has already stated that he probably won't make too many changes from the team who beat Brighton 2-3 at the weekend.
My prediction for this game is Nottingham Forest 2-0 Wigan Athletic. I am expecting Forest to build on what was a very positive result on Saturday with another three points. It is important that Forest go on a bit of a run now to make sure we are well clear of relegation and even maybe get back into the playoff race. Anything is possible in the Championship, and much stranger things have happened in the past. However, I think Wigan are more than beatable for Forest especially on home turf.
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