Wigan Athletic FC - Match Preview | Latics v Swansea City

By @LaticsOfficial

A closer look into Monday’s game at the DW Stadium

Match Preview | Latics v Swansea City
A closer look into Monday’s game at the DW Stadium
Shaun Maloney’s side will be aiming to bounce back from their narrow defeat at Sheffield United

Wigan Athletic will host Swansea City in the Sky Bet Championship on Monday afternoon (kick-off 3pm).

Shaun Maloney’s side will welcome the Swans to the DW Stadium, aiming to immediately bounce back from their narrow defeat at Bramall Lane on Good Friday.

Sheffield United forward Iliman Ndiaye’s early goal proved decisive on an afternoon where Latics came close through efforts from Thelo Aasgaard, Callum Lang and substitute Josh Magennis.

Although Latics sadly fell on the wrong side of the result, there were some positives to take away from the game, and they will be looking to return to winning ways when Swansea visit the DW Stadium.

While results elsewhere on Good Friday certainly didn’t go in Latics’ favour, there is still a strong belief within the camp that Maloney’s men can continue the Club’s proud history of defying the odds by engineering a great escape.

The task is far from impossible, and with six games still to play and 18 points up for grabs, Latics can start that process with a huge victory on Monday.

Swansea City, who are managed by former MK Dons boss Russell Martin, will come into the game on the back of a three-match unbeaten run.

After defeating Bristol City and Cardiff City, the Swans earned a goalless draw against Play-Off-chasing Coventry City on Good Friday.

Form Guide - Last Six in All Competitions

Latics: DLLDWL

Swansea City: LLLWWD

OPPOSITION OVERVIEW

After being founded as ‘Swansea Town’ in 1912, the South Wales outfit joined the Southern League initially, winning the Welsh Cup in their inaugural season.

Later joining the Football League in 1920, the Jacks spent a period between the Third and Fourth Divisions, before eventually becoming ‘Swansea City’ in 1969 when the area of Swansea became officially recognised as a city.

Three promotions in four seasons meant that the Jacks reached the First Division in 1981, immediately making their mark as they finished sixth in their first-ever season in the top flight.

They slipped back down the pyramid and ended up in the Fourth Division come 1986, before almost being relegated from the Football League altogether in 2003. The Jacks later climbed back up the ladder, going all the way from League Two to the Premier League for the first time, with Latics legend Roberto Martinez being a key part of their journey as both a player and manager.

After winning the Championship Play-Off Final under Brendan Rodgers, Michael Laudrup masterminded a League Cup win in 2013, with the Jacks also playing in the UEFA Europa League in the season that followed.

Relegation from the Premier League came in 2017/18, and the Jacks have remained in the Championship ever since. They almost returned in 2020/21, when they were narrowly edged by Brentford in the Play-Off Final.

Sitting in 15th place after their Good Friday draw wity Coventry City, Russell Martin’s men will be hoping to finish the 2022/23 Championship campaign strongly and provide themselves with a strong platform to build from moving forward.

IN THE OPPOSITION DUGOUTS

Now in his second full season in South Wales, Russell Martin has certainly upheld Swansea City’s identity as a possession-based side that plays an attractive brand of football.

A former defender for the likes of Brighton & Hove Albion, Peterborough United and Norwich City, Martin enjoyed a 15-year playing career that included two promotions to the Premier League and 29 caps for Scotland.

The 37-year-old experienced his first taste of coaching with Walsall in 2018, before being appointed as Paul Tisdale’s successor at MK Dons in November 2019. He achieved the immediate task at hand of keeping the Dons in League One, whilst also laying out the foundations of his footballing philosophy.

Sitting only behind Manchester City and Barcelona in Europe when it came to their dominance of possession, Martin’s newly implemented style of play certainly had a positive effect as it helped the Dons continue their upward trajectory and finish in 13th place.

Martin has won plaudits aplenty for always being brave and committed to his principles, and this convinced the Jacks to appoint the former Scotland international in August 2021 following the departure of now Nottingham Forest boss Steve Cooper.

Historically, the Welsh outfit has always prided itself on playing a possession-based style, with former Latics boss Roberto Martinez initially helping plant the seeds of what became fondly known as ‘The Swansea Way’ in those parts.

After finishing 15th place in the 2021/22 campaign, the Jacks flirted with the Play-Offs during the first half of the season, before a difficult run of form over the festive period saw them drop towards the wrong end of the league table.

Swansea are currently on a three-match unbeaten run, and Martin will be hoping that his side can make a strong finish to the season.

THE DANGER MAN | JOËL PIRO

Swansea City’s leading scorer with 14 league goals, Joël Piroe will be hoping to add to that tally between now and the end of the season.

The Holland youth international started his career in his homeland with Feyenoord, before moving to PSV Eindhoven in 2014. He made his professional breakthrough with Jong PSV in 2016, later establishing himself as a regular starter in the Eerste Division.

In order to step up his exciting development, Piroe spent the 2019/20 season on loan with Sparta Rotterdam, scoring two goals in his 18 appearances in the Dutch top division. The following campaign saw him make 12 first-team appearances for PSV, where he most memorably scored a brace in their Europa League win over Omonia Nicosia.

Piroe then linked up with this Monday's visitors in the summer of 2021, immediately making his presence felt in South Wales after he netted 24 times during his debut season. He has continued his impressive form this term, netting 15 goals in all competitions, including one against Latics in the reverse meeting last November.

With six games still to be played, Piroe will be targeting to increase his tally and help Russell Martin’s side climb up the Championship table.