Rob’s Prediction: Barnsley V Wigan

Wigan Athletic F.C. were sadly relegated come the end of May 2013. There were contributing factors to this, such as a very unlucky injury list, notably Ivan Ramis and Antolin Alcaraz, the latter moving onto Everton where old manager Roberto Martinez now manages.

Since then, Wigan have installed a new manager, Owen Coyle, which was met with mixed reactions. However, Owen Coyle has signed some very intriguing players. Pre-season, despite a disappointing loss to Dundee United, has been very positive and the new signings have adapted very well.

Now, Wigan need to slug it out through their new championship campaign and this campaign begins at Barnsley Football Club, who were very fortunate to avoid relegation last season after they secured a 2-2 draw at Huddersfield Town, in which both teams survived in nervous circumstances.

Barnsley, as a team, are very much like Wigan in many ways, an enigma. Sometimes they put in excellent performances and other times, they get heavily beaten. However, since the installation of their new manager last season, they went on an impressive run which secured safety.

That said, Wigan’s record at Oakwell happens to be a very good one and they have rarely tasted anything other than victory on this ground. Whilst I do not expect Barnsley to roll over, I don’t also believe they are quite strong enough to beat Wigan, though I do think it might be a tighter game than some may imagine and also, we don’t have a great opening day record, but I think we should have enough to beat Barnsley Football Club in the opening fixture and set in stone our quest for an instant return to the Premier League.

Rob’s Championship Predictions
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Burnley 0-2 Bolton
Barnsley 1-2 Wigan
Birmingham 1-2 Watford
Bournemouth 1-1 Charlton
Doncaster 1-0 Blackpool
Leeds 1-0 Brighton
Middlesbrough 1-2 Leicester
Millwall 2-0 Yeovil
Nottingham Forest 1-0 Huddersfield
QPR 2-0 Sheffield Wednesday
Reading 3-0 Ipswich
Derby 1-1 Blackburn

I am away on holiday for a fortnight after today so I will return for Rob’s Prediction when I come back.

Here’s to a successful season!