Wigan vs Salford prediction 02.09.2025 | EFL Trophy
Wigan Athletic
Kick off:
Date:
Salford City
Contents
- Competition: EFL Trophy
- Date: Tuesday, 2nd September, 2025
- Kickoff: 19:00 UK / 20:00 CEST
- Venue: The Brick Community Stadium (Wigan)
On Tuesday evening, a League One side, Wigan, will welcome a League Two team, Salford, in their first h2h match in the clubs' history. The game will take place at The Brick Community Stadium in the first round of the EFL Trophy 2025/26.
Last year, Wigan reached the knockout phase but were eliminated by Chesterfield, while Salford failed to come out of the group phase. We believe neither team is too interested in this competition, and we could see heavily rotated squads.
Wigan team overview
After suffering relegation from the Championship in the 2022/23 season, Wigan had two mid-table finishes in League One. For this season, their goal is undoubtedly to reach the playoffs, but the season did not start well as they won only eight points in six rounds and are in 13th place. However, in the EFL Cup, the Latics did well, eliminating Notts County and Stockport County and reaching the 1/16 Finals, where they will face another League One side, Wycombe.
After the 1:1 draw with Stockport County in the previous game, coach Ryan Lowe spoke to the media. He said it was an entertaining game, but said they have to clean up mistakes because they constantly gave possessions too cheaply. The coach eventually assessed that they were a better team overall and deserved more than one point.
Last matches of Wigan Athletic
-
Luton Town F.C.
1 : 0
Wigan Athletic
League One
-
Wigan Athletic
2 : 0
Peterborough United
League One
-
Wigan Athletic
1 : 0
Notts County
Carabao Cup
-
Leyton Orient
2 : 0
Wigan Athletic
League One
-
Wigan Athletic
3 : 1
Northampton Town
League One
Wigan Athletic lineup
Goalkeeper
-
12
Tom Watson
Defenders
-
5
Steven Sessegnon
-
47
Josh Robinson
-
23
James Carragher
-
41
K'Marni Miller
Midfielders
-
16
Baba Adeeko
-
17
Matt Smith
-
24
Harry McHugh
Forwards
-
18
Jonny Smith
-
37
Maleace Asamoah
-
10
Paul Mullin
Salford team overview
Salford spent the last six seasons in League Two, where they were mainly in the upper half of the league's table. Last year, they missed the Playoffs by only one point, but they have high aspirations under the consortium of David Beckham and Garry Neville. While the pre-season went great result-wise, the Ammies haven't been as great in the official season. They won ten points in six rounds and are in 11th place, still just one point away from the Playoffs and two points away from the top three spots.
After a 1:1 draw in the previous game vs Cheltenham, coach Karl Robinson spoke to the media. He was optimistic and confident about his side's attacking potential. However, the coach noted they have to be much more clinical in front of the goal.
Last matches of Salford City
-
Newport County
0 : 1
Salford City
League Two
-
Salford City
2 : 1
Accrington Stanley
League Two
-
Salford City
2 : 3
Rotherham United
Carabao Cup
-
Notts County
1 : 2
Salford City
League Two
-
Salford City
1 : 3
Crewe Alexandra
League Two
Salford City lineup
Goalkeeper
-
33
Mark Howard
Defenders
-
19
Haji Mnoga
-
15
Brandon Cooper
-
5
Michael Rose
-
2
Loick Ayina
Midfielders
-
18
Matt Butcher
-
10
Kelly Nmai
-
4
Ossama Ashley
-
17
Josh Austerfield
Forwards
-
9
Cole Stockton
-
27
Nicolas Siri
Prediction
This season, Wigan have been very good for this bet as they went under 2.5 goals in six out of the last eight games across the competitions - 75%. However, that is not really a surprise because they were the best team in the Championship for this bet last year, as 70% of their games ended with fewer than three goals (32 out of 46). Also, in the EFL Cup, both their games vs Notts Co and Stockport Co ended with 1:0 wins in matches without too many goalscoring chances.
This season, Salford struggled to score goals even though they are playing OK. In seven games across the competitions, they scored zero or one goal on five occasions - 71%. Also, lately, they mostly went under 2.5 goals as we saw fewer than three goals in the last three matches with an average of only 1.33 goals per game.
Considering all the above, and the fact that both teams could rotate the squad, we believe that an under 2.5 goals bet should be the safest option for this EFL Trophy tie.
3 Reasons why we should see fewer than three goals
- Wigan went under 2.5 goals in six out of eight games
- Salford went under 2.5 goals in the last three matches
- Salford scored one or zero goals in five out of seven games this year
Main prediction Wigan Athletic - Salford City
Under 2.5 goals
Wigan Athletic vs Salford City standings in EFL Trophy
| Group A | P | W | D | L |
G - A
|
GD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wigan Athletic | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 - 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | Salford City | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 - 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | Stockport County | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 - 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | Wolves U21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 - 0 | 0 | 0 |