Blackpool vs Wigan Athletic Prediction: Both teams badly need three points to survive in Championship

Blackpool is set to host Wigan Athletic on Saturday at Bloomfield Road. Both teams badly need three points in their respective aim of survival in the second tier of English football. Who will come out on top after 90 minutes? 

Following a string of three consecutive defeats, Blackpool decided to part ways with Mick McCarthy in a last-ditch effort to rescue their season. Stephen Dobbie has been appointed as interim head coach and suffered a 3-1 loss in his debut match against third-placed Luton Town, despite initially taking the lead.

However, their defensive woes continued as they conceded three or more goals for the fourth consecutive game, now possessing the worst defensive record in the league with a margin of three goals.

Before McCarthy's departure, Blackpool had been performing well at home, going unbeaten in seven games across all competitions, but have since suffered two losses at Bloomfield Road.

Maxwell; Lyons, Nelson, Thorniley, Husband; Carey, Fiorini, Anderson; Bowler, Rogers, Hamilton

A recent run of five points from three games gave the Latics some much-needed momentum. However, consecutive losses to Sheffield United and Swansea City leave Wigan in a position where they may need to win at least four of their remaining five games to avoid relegation from the second tier.

Scoring goals has been an ongoing issue for Wigan, and they have failed to score from open play in almost seven halves of football. Even if they improve their defensive effort, it may not be enough unless they can score more regularly.

Although Wigan will end the season with matches against direct rivals Reading and Rotherham United, they must first focus on getting good results against Blackpool, Stoke City, and Millwall. Despite not winning away since the beginning of October, Wigan has a slightly better away record than at their home ground, the DW Stadium.

Amos; Hughes, Whatmough, Nyambe; Darikwa, Power, Tiehi, McClean; Aasgaard, Lang; Magennis

Although both teams are in dire need of a win, it doesn't necessarily mean that they will be overly aggressive in pursuit of a victory. It's possible that we may witness a tense game between two teams lacking in confidence, which could result in a draw that neither side desires. Nevertheless, given Dobbie's team's home-field advantage and Wigan's dreadful away form, we're backing the Tangerines to secure the victory. Expect less than 2.5 goals in the game.