Comments, predictions Wigan Athletic vs Fulham: Defeat the home team

Former Premier League rivals will battle it out for a place in the fifth round of the FA Cup on Saturday afternoon, when Fulham and Wigan Athletic go head-to-head at the Brick Community Stadium.

Marco Silva's men eased past Watford 4-1 in the third round of the competition, while Latics beat Mansfield Town by two goals to nil.

Latest Wigan Athletic vs Fulham team information

January has been relatively quiet in terms of transfers for Fulham, but the Cottagers confirmed the re-signing of former striker Willian on Thursday morning; whether he will receive international clearance in time for the trip to Wigan remains to be seen.

Silva will certainly have to make do without Harry Wilson (foot) and Kenny Tete (knee) for the fourth-round tie, but Arsenal loanee Reiss Nelson is in the final stages of his recovery from a thigh problem and has a chance of returning on Saturday.

Changes are certain to be made for the Cottagers, with the likes of Muniz, Tom Cairney, Harrison Reed and Ryan Sessegnon in contention for rare starting spots, while Bernd Leno will be given a day's rest and Steven Benda will step in to keep goal.

Wigan were more active on the transfer front in the winter window, with third-round hero Aasgaard sold to Luton Town, but new arrivals Oliver Norburn and Jon Mellish were both ineligible for this game.

Maloney's side also lost Silko Thomas to injury after just 25 minutes against Lincoln City, and the Leicester City-owned striker has now returned to his parent club for treatment on that serious knee problem.

However, Owen Dale - a deadline day signing from Oxford United - is a similar replacement in the wide position, while Ronan Darcy, who also joined in the final transfer window from Crawley Town, is a candidate to replace Aasgaard.

Latest predicted lineup Wigan Athletic vs Fulham

Wigan Athletic:

Tickle; Sibbick, Kerr, Carragher, L. Robinson; S. Smith, Weir; J. Smith, Darcy, Dale; Taylor

Fulham:

Benda; Castagne, Cuenca, Diop, Sessegnon; Cairney, Reed; Traore, Pereira, Iwobi; Muniz

Latest football review Wigan Athletic vs Fulham

Still waiting for a taste of stardom in the FA Cup, Fulham have regularly fallen victim to the fourth-round curse in this competition, having been knocked out of the competition at exactly this stage in four of the last five seasons, barring a quarter-final appearance in 2023.

However, the Cottagers have reason to be considered dark horses for glory in this year's edition, where their opening third-round clash with Watford was a routine day's work as Rodrigo Muniz, Raul Jimenez, Joachim Andersen and Timothy Castagne hit the back of the net.

The aforementioned Muniz and Jimenez also combined to secure Fulham's most recent win over a Premier League side, cancelling out Jacob Murphy's opener in a 2-1 away win over EFL Cup finalists Newcastle United, thus cementing their position in the top half of the table.

Already in the race for European football in the Premier League, a route to Europe is also available via the FA Cup for Fulham, who have lost just two of their 13 games in all competitions since the start of December and have developed a bond with attacking excellence on away days.

Indeed, the Cottagers have scored at least twice in each of their last five away games and have not scored away from home since their opening 1-0 Premier League defeat to Manchester United in August, scoring in 13 such games since then.

Fulham fans don't see this.

Unlike the more highly-rated hosts, Wigan have a glittering FA Cup trophy in their cupboard from their historic win over Manchester City in the 2012-13 edition, but recent results in the competition have been mixed, with some underwhelming.

Latics are bidding to reach the fifth round of this prestigious tournament for the first time since the 2017-18 edition, but have shown their strength away from home in this competition, beating all of Carlisle United, Cambridge United and Mansfield Town so far this season.

Shaun Maloney's men were indebted to Thelo Aasgaard's quickfire double in a 2-0 win over their nearest rivals in the third round, but they have been inconsistent in League One since, picking up seven points from their last 15 to drop into the bottom half of the table.

Wigan were on the verge of overtaking mid-table Lincoln City on February 1, only for James Collins to score from the rebound after Sam Tickle had saved his first-time shot, meaning just one of their last six games at the Brick Community Stadium has ended in success.

Furthermore, Latics' head-to-head record against Fulham creates an extremely difficult situation for home fans, as Wigan have failed to win any of their last 19 matches against the Cottagers, who have never gone a longer run without defeat against a single opponent in their history.

Wigan Athletic vs Fulham score prediction

Based on the above football comments, we and the world's leading football sites have given the following results for the Wigan Athletic vs Fulham match:

• Sportsmole: Wigan Athletic vs Fulham

• WhoScore: Wigan Athletic vs Fulham
• Our prediction: Wigan Athletic vs Fulham

When and where to watch Wigan Athletic vs Fulham live?

To watch live the match Wigan Athletic vs Fulham in the FA Cup taking place at 22:00 on February 8, viewers can watch on K+ Sport, K+PM or online sports channels. Wish you all have fun watching football.

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