Wigan Athletic host Birmingham City tomorrow looking to get over their defeat to the league’s bottom side last weekend.

Paul Cook’s men went down by the odd goal last Saturday against Ipswich Town at Portman Road.

The defeat saw the Latics remain in 16th place and hovering above the relegation places – six points ahead of third-bottom Millwall.

A win on the weekend could see Wigan move up a place to 15th and further extend the gap between them and the bottom three.

Ahead of the game, early team news has emerged from the club via their official website.

Gavin Massey is pushing for a start after being an unused substitute last weekend with manager Paul Cook feeling there was no value in bringing him on at the point he pondered a change.

The midfielder returned to the matchday squad after recovering from a hamstring injury and was not risked in the loss to Paul Lambert’s team.

Che Dunkley has had a full week’s training and could be in line for a return to action.

Michael Jacobs has stepped up his recovery, but this weekend could come too soon for the 27-year-old.

And Nick Powell remains side-lined, despite nearing a return with Cook hopeful he can be involved in the new year.

The verdict

While there is not a lot of movement regarding players returning at present, last week will hopefully have been just a blip for Paul Cook’s men.

Ipswich got just their second win of the season at Wigan’s expense, and they will be hoping to bounce back from the defeat when they take on Birmingham City.

Back at the DW Stadium, they have a similar home record to what the Blues have away, so it could be a tight battle that Cook’s men will need to win if they are to push further away from the relegation battle.