Wigan Athletic vs Queens Park Rangers Prediction: The home team are going into the game with slight advantage

Wigan Athletic is fully aware that they need to secure a win on Saturday's game against Queens Park Rangers to have a reasonable chance of escaping relegation from the Championship. As of now, they are eight points behind safety, while QPR, who is in 19th place, is only six points clear of the bottom three.

After achieving two spirited draws against Coventry City and Watford, Shaun Maloney was feeling hopeful about the progress of his Wigan team. However, he was aware that the club was due to receive a three-point deduction for failing to pay wages on time, which was subsequently confirmed during the international break. With an eight-point gap between them and safety, it seems increasingly likely that Wigan will be relegated to League One. Nevertheless, Maloney must motivate his team by emphasizing the potential of one win to turn their fortunes around. Despite the fact that a win this weekend would not lift them off the bottom of the table, Wigan can take heart from the fact that they have secured five draws in their last eight games. Additionally, their unbeaten streak of four matches at the DW Stadium must be extended when facing one of their direct relegation rivals.

Keane, Sinani, Tiehi, McClean, Naylor, Power, Darikwa, Nyambe, Caulker, Rekik and Amos

Gareth Ainsworth has failed to have the desired impact on QPR as expected by the decision-makers at Loftus Road, as the team is now closer to the relegation zone than they were under their previous manager Neil Critchley. The team has suffered significant defeats in various ways, including a 6-1 loss to Blackpool and a 1-0 home loss to Birmingham City. With a challenging schedule ahead, Ainsworth understands the importance of upcoming matches, especially the one on Saturday, in terms of maintaining their status in the second-tier. If QPR wins, they could be nine points clear of the relegation zone, but a defeat could place them only three points ahead of 22nd place.

Dykes, Lowe, Paal, Johansen, Iroegbunam, Amos, Adomah, Field, Dunne, Dickie and Dieng

Taking everything into account, this upcoming match appears to be significant for both teams, and the pressure could impact their performance. Keeping this in perspective, we believe that a Wigan win at home could be the outcome, which would not be favourable for QPR. The total number of goals scored will be less than 2.5.