Although Bolton Wanderers remain in the Championship's relegation zone, there have been signs in recent weeks that under the management of Neil Lennon, things are looking up at the Macron Stadium.

Of the five matches that Lennon has taken charge of, the Trotters have won three, including Tuesday evening's 3-0 victory over Cardiff City - a game in which Liam Feeney helped himself to two goals.

For Friday night's visit of Wigan Athletic, it is expected that winger Feeney will retain his place in the starting lineup, while Jay Spearing could also return to the midfield, having been dropped for the Cardiff encounter.

Lennon may also opt to stick with Craig Davies up front instead of Jermaine Beckford, who has failed to score in his last 10 outings.

Meanwhile, pre-season promotion favourites Wigan have struggled for victories this term, particularly away from home. On the road, Uwe Rosler's men have won just one of their eight encounters.

Rosler made four changes to his team for the 1-0 midweek defeat at Brighton & Hove Albion, which saw Shaun Maloney, James McClean, James Perch and Martyn Waghorn come into the team.

Despite the negative result, Rosler is not expected to make too many alterations, with long-term injury absentees Chris McCann and Ben Watson tipped to be included among the substitutes.

A victory for the home side would see them leapfrog Wigan, who could find themselves in the bottom three by the end of the weekend if results elsewhere were to go against them. However, in the last three meetings between these sides, Wigan have avoided defeat.

Recent form

Bolton: LWLWLW

Wigan: DDDWDL

Possible starting lineups

Bolton: Lonergan; Mills, Ream, Dervite; Feeney, M Davies, Danns, Pratley, Spearing; Chung-Yong, C Davies

Wigan: Carson; Kiernan, Perch, Figueroa, Tavernier; Espinoza, Forshaw, McClean, Cowie; Waghorn, Maloney

Sports Mole says: 2-1