Fresh off the back of a frenetic and action-packed 5-5 draw with Cheltenham Town, Wycombe Wanderers play host to Wigan Athletic at the Adams Park on Tuesday.

The visitors, meanwhile, were denied a third win on the bounce last time out when they played out a 1-1 draw with Rotherham United and will look to quickly return to winning ways.

Match preview

Wycombe Wanderers' Brandon Hanlan celebrates scoring their first goal on January 11, 2022 © Reuters

After a sensational start to the season, where they were in the forefront for the League One title, Wycombe Wanderers appear to have run out of steam and now find themselves scrambling to remain in the playoff places.

The Chairboys, who once sat at the summit of the league standings, now find themselves in sixth place, level on 55 points with Sunderland and Sheffield Wednesday outside the playoffs zone.

Gareth Ainsworth's side head into Tuesday's game without a win in any of their last five games, losing twice and claiming three draws in that time, including a 5-5 draw with Cheltenham Town on home turf last Saturday.

In a 10-goal thriller at the Adams Park Stadium, Alfie May turned in a performance of the highest quality, scoring four goals as Cheltenham Town came back from two goals down twice in the game to snatch a hard-fought point.

This further highlighted Wycombe Wanderers' recent defensive frailties as they have now conceded 10 goals in their last five games, while they boast the second-poorest defensive record of the six teams in the playoffs places.

Wigan Athletic's Thelo Aasgaard celebrates scoring their second goal with teammates on December 8, 2021 © Reuters

Meanwhile, Wigan Athletic were denied a third win on the bounce last time out when they were held to a 1-1 by Rotherham United at the AESSEAL New York Stadium.

In a thrilling top-of-the-table clash, Stephen Humphrys opened the scoring in the 28th minute to put the visitors ahead but Oliver Rathbone struck 15 minutes away from time to force a share of the spoils.

Prior to that, Leam Richardson's men ended their four-game winless run when they came from behind to secure a 2-1 win over Charlton Athletic on February 12 before seeing off Crewe Alexandra 2-0 three days later.

With 63 points from 30 games, The Latics are currently second in the League One standings, six points off first-placed Rotterdam United.

However, Wigan Athletic currently boast two games in hand over most of their league rivals and will hope to move level on points with the Millers at the summit of the table.

Wycombe Wanderers League One form:

Wigan Athletic League One form:

Wigan Athletic form (all competitions):

Team News

Wigan Athletic coach Leam Richardson on February 1, 2022 © Reuters

Wycombe Wanderers head into Tuesday's game with a clean bill of health and no suspension concerns, giving Ainsworth the luxury of a full-strength squad at his disposal.

Josh Scowen should return to the fold having missed the game against Cheltenham Town last time out through suspension for picking up a red card in versus Lincoln City

With his brace against the Robins, Sam Vokes has now entered double-digit league goals this season and we expect the former Burnley man to lead the attack once again.

Meanwhile, Wigan Athletic will take to the pitch without the services of Jordan Cousins, who sustained an injury midway through the game against Shrewsbury Town back in December.

Humphrys has been on song for the visitors, scoring or assisting in each of their last three games and we expect the 24-year-old to retain his place in the XI.

He should be joined at the attacking end of the pitch by Irish midfielder Will Keane, who is currently fifth in the league's goalscorers chart with 15 goals so far.

Wycombe Wanderers possible starting lineup:
Stockdale; Grimmer, Forino-Joseph, Jacobson; McCarthy, Horgan, Thompson, Obita; Kaikai, Vokes, Hanlan

Wigan Athletic possible starting lineup:
Amos; Kerr, Whatmough, Tilt; Power, Naylor, McClean; Lang; Keane, Magennis, Humphrys

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We say: Wycombe Wanderers 1-2 Wigan Athletic

Despite their impressive attacking display against Cheltenham Town, Ainsworth will be disappointed by his side's performance at the opposite end of the pitch having failed to protect their lead. While we expect a cagey affair on Tuesday, we expect Wigan to come away with all three points, albeit by a slender margin.

Data Analysis

Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Wigan Athletic win with a probability of 42.31%. A win for Wycombe Wanderers had a probability of 31.99% and a draw had a probability of 25.7%.

The most likely scoreline for a Wigan Athletic win was 0-1 with a probability of 9.9%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-2 (8.88%) and 0-2 (7.21%). The likeliest Wycombe Wanderers win was 1-0 (8.38%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.19%). The actual scoreline of 1-3 was predicted with a 4.3% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole and our data analysis both correctly predicted that Wigan Athletic would win this match.