Match Preview | Cardiff City vs. Wigan Athletic
Cardiff City welcome Wigan Athletic to Cardiff City Stadium on Saturday afternoon (14/01), 3pm KO.
OPPOSITION FOCUS | IN THE DUGOUT
Wigan Athletic’s manager is Kolo Touré, who was appointed in November for his first role in management.
During his playing career, the centre-back represented the likes of Arsenal, Manchester City and Liverpool, winning the Premier League on two occasions and the FA Cup twice.
Touré also had success at international level, amassing 120 caps for Ivory Coast, becoming an African Cup of Nations champion in 2015.
Since his retirement, the defender has been on the coaching staff with the national team’s u23 side, as well as working alongside Brendan Rodgers at Celtic and Leicester City.
OPPOSITION FOCUS | KEY PLAYER
The Latics’ top scorer is striker Will Keane, who has netted nine league goals, as well as contributing with two assists so far this season.
Keane averages a goal every 234 minutes, with a shot accuracy of 40%, which sees him place joint-sixth in the Championship top scorers chart.
The striker made the move to the DW Stadium in 2020 from Ipswich Town and has been in fine form since, netting 44 goals in 97 league appearances for the club.
CLUB CONNECTION | JOE BENNETT
This weekend could see the Bluebirds face off against former left-back Joe Bennett, who was a great servant to the club between 2016 and 2021.
Joining from Aston Villa on a free transfer in an astute piece of business, Bennett played a key role in the Bluebirds’ promotion to the Premier League in the 2017/18 campaign, with the defender making 40 appearances in all competitions that season.
Having amassed 164 league appearances for City during his time in the Welsh capital, scoring five goals, the left-back moved on to Wigan Athletic in 2021 and will return to Cardiff City Stadium this weekend.
FIRST AND LAST | BLUEBIRDS AND LATICS
City’s first ever meeting with Wigan Athletic was a five-goal thriller at Ninian Park back in September 1982.
John Lewis and Gary Bennett equalised on two occasions for the Bluebirds, as the contest was locked at 2-2 heading into the final five minutes, until Billy Woof stepped up with the winner for City to claim a valuable three points.
Under the management of Len Ashurst, the Bluebirds secured promotion to the Second Division at the end of the campaign by finishing second, five points behind champions Portsmouth.
In the meeting with the Latics in October, City claimed all three points in a fine away performance.
Callum Robinson opened the scoring for the Bluebirds with just seven minutes on the clock, before Sheyi Ojo’s second-half goal doubled the advantage.
Despite striker Charlie Wyke pulling a goal back to set up a tense finish, a fantastic free-kick from Ryan Wintle ensured the victory for City.
