Reading vs Wigan Athletic: Match Preview
How will these teams perform without points deductions this season? Wigan have signed well, while Reading have played well. We are in for an interesting battle.
Off the back of a poor cup game at Colchester United on Tuesday, Reading are looking to bounce back with a strong performance at the Select Car Leasing Stadium this Saturday. Wigan Athletic are also looking to spark some form, coming off the back of two losses.
Will home advantage benefit the Royals? Or is a strong Wigan side too much?
All to be revealed in today’s match preview.
What? League One, match day two
Season? 2024/25
Who? Wigan Athletic
Where? Select Car Leasing Stadium
When? Saturday August 17
Time? 15:00
Opposition manager? Shaun Maloney
Points deductions
Both Wigan (eight) and Reading (six) suffered points deductions last season that damaged their progress.
Wigan’s owners (Abdulrahman Al Jasmi and Talal Al Hammad) failed to pay player wages on time on three separate occasions, handing the club two four-point deductions, meaning 10th place turned into 12th place. But Wigan have now completed a sale of the club to Mike Danson who has now paid 100% of the players’ wages, and he aims to take the club back to glory.
Reading are in a very similar situation but not only was owner Dai Yongge not paying the players, he wasn’t paying the staff or HMRC. This meant Reading were deducted six points last season due to many failed payments over the past few years, making the total points deducted a huge 18 in three seasons.
Players who have played for both teams
A new segment in the preview is looking at players who have played for both clubs and where they are now.
Jason Roberts played for Wigan Athletic from 2004-2006, scoring 37 goals in 93 games for the Latics. He signed for Reading in 2012 and retired in 2014, playing 28 games, scoring six goals for the Royals. He is now the chief football development officer for CONCACAF.
Ali Al-Habsi played 136 games for Wigan between 2010 and 2015, including a loan spell between 2010-2011. The goalkeeper then joined Reading in 2015 from the Latics, playing until 2017, making 78 appearances for the club.
He was named Reading’s player of the season in 2015/16 and 2016/17, and retired in 2019. Fun fact: Al-Habsi said in an interview that if he wasn’t a footballer, he would’ve been a fireman!
Noel Hunt played for Wigan towards the end of his career, making seven appearances and scoring no goals. Hunt played for the Royals between 2008 and 2013, making 145 appearances and netting 33 goals.
He is now the under-21s coach at Reading, leading the youth team, having previously been interim manager after the sacking of Paul Ince.
Adam Le Fondre had a loan spell at Wigan in 2016/17, making 12 appearances, scoring one goal for the club. Alfie signed for the Royals in 2011, making 104 appearances, scoring 39 goals for the club. He then left Reading to join Cardiff City in 2014.
Le Fondre has recently signed for FC United of Manchester, making one appearance and scoring one goal for the club.
The lineup
In goal will be Joel Pereira: he has played well and the performance from Coniah Boyce-Clarke wasn’t convincing on Tuesday in attempting to take his place.
The defence will stay largely the same as in the game against Birmingham City, knowing that Andy Yiadom is still injured. This will contain Kelvin Abrefa, Amadou Mbengue, Tyler Bindon and Jeriel Dorsett.
We really struggled on Tuesday without Ben Elliott on the field. I think he will come back into the side alongside Lewis Wing and Harvey Knibbs. I am also predicting Elliott to score a goal.
The front three I think will contain Kelvin Ehibhatiomhan, Sam Smith and Andre Garcia. Garcia was one of a couple players who did have some promising moments against Colchester and also showed glimpses of real potential when he came on against Birmingham last Saturday. Ehibatiomhan and Smith are guaranteed to start, especially Ehibhatiomhan, with how he has performed at the start of the season so far.
Make sure to support the lads and make some noise!
Score prediction 2-2
Come on you Royals!