Match Report
On paper the standings were lopsided — Sunderland 6th with 69 points, Wigan Athletic 24th with 39, 30 apart. Wigan Athletic had been over-performing their table position on recent form: 9th in the league over the last five rounds against 24th overall. Per game in the league, Wigan Athletic were scoring 0.83 and conceding 1.41, Sunderland 1.48 and 1.2, against a competition average of 1.22 goals per team per game.
Recent form was uneven: 4/15 points for Wigan Athletic, 10/15 for Sunderland.
The head-to-head ledger counts 14 games: 4 Wigan Athletic wins, 8 for Sunderland, 2 draws, at 2.86 goals per meeting.
The DW Stadium in Wigan staged the fixture, a ground that holds 25,138. It was 1-1 at the break, and the second half added 3 goals for the 1-4 full-time score.