PitchMath
League One · 2026

Wigan Athletic 3–1 Milton Keynes Dons · League One

3–1Full-time analysis

This page describes the completed match context. The result is not presented as a prior forecast.

Match at a glance

Wigan Athletic won 3–1.

Shots
1918
Shots on target
64
Expected goals
2.352.81
Possession
46%54%

Full time

What the match recorded

Wigan Athletic beat Milton Keynes Dons 3–1. Recorded in this match (Wigan Athletic – Milton Keynes Dons): shots 19–18, shots on target 6–4, expected goals 2.35–2.81, possession 46%–54%. This is what was recorded. It is not a claim that the result was foreseeable.

Pre-match record

What the data showed before kick-off. Kept for reference; it did not know the result.

Wigan Athletic show a distinct attacking-volume record

weak

Wigan Athletic's shot volume and the opposing shot-allowance context sit above their competition baselines.

17.3 shots/match ▲ShotsWigan Athletic · Milton Keynes Dons16 shots/match
Evidence and caveat

Comparison: Team shot volume is paired with the opponent's recorded shot allowance.

Window: season

MetricWigan AthleticMilton Keynes DonsBaseline
Shots17.3 shots/match16 shots/match13.1 shots/match
Shots against14.3 shots/match19.5 shots/match13.3 shots/match

Caveat: Shot volume describes activity; it does not establish finishing quality or a match outcome.

Recent scheduling adds useful context

weak

A compressed recent schedule is recorded for Wigan Athletic.

3.24 days ▲Rest daysWigan Athletic · Milton Keynes Dons4.3 days
Evidence and caveat

Comparison: Rest days and completed matches in the prior 14 days are shown directly.

Window: previous 14 days

MetricWigan AthleticMilton Keynes DonsBaseline
Rest days3.24 days4.3 days—
Matches last 14 days2 matches2 matches—

Caveat: The database does not describe travel, rotation decisions or player-level workload.

The teams have contrasting possession records

weak

Wigan Athletic have recorded the higher season possession share.

57.5% ●PossessionWigan Athletic · Milton Keynes Dons42%
Evidence and caveat

Comparison: The recorded possession gap is 15.5 percentage points.

Window: season

MetricWigan AthleticMilton Keynes DonsBaseline
Possession57.5%42%48.4%

Caveat: Possession share does not show where possession occurred or how chances were created.

This match

Match statistics

  • Shots19 shots18 shotsWigan Athletic 19 shots, Milton Keynes Dons 18 shots
  • Shots on target6 shots4 shotsWigan Athletic 6 shots, Milton Keynes Dons 4 shots
  • Expected goals2.35 xG2.81 xGWigan Athletic 2.35 xG, Milton Keynes Dons 2.81 xG
  • Possession46%54%Wigan Athletic 46%, Milton Keynes Dons 54%
  • Corners5 corners5 cornersWigan Athletic 5 corners, Milton Keynes Dons 5 corners
  • Fouls11 fouls11 foulsWigan Athletic 11 fouls, Milton Keynes Dons 11 fouls
  • Yellow cards2 cards2 cardsWigan Athletic 2 cards, Milton Keynes Dons 2 cards
  • Passes338 passes406 passesWigan Athletic 338 passes, Milton Keynes Dons 406 passes
  • Pass accuracy78.1%79.3%Wigan Athletic 78.1%, Milton Keynes Dons 79.3%
  • Shots inside box12 shots13 shotsWigan Athletic 12 shots, Milton Keynes Dons 13 shots
  • Blocked shots6 blocks6 blocksWigan Athletic 6 blocks, Milton Keynes Dons 6 blocks
  • Goalkeeper saves3 saves2 savesWigan Athletic 3 saves, Milton Keynes Dons 2 saves
  • Offsides1 offside1 offsideWigan Athletic 1 offside, Milton Keynes Dons 1 offside

As it happened

Key moments

  1. 8′Finley BurnsYellow card · Wigan Athletic
  2. 18′Jack SandersYellow card · Milton Keynes Dons
  3. 36′Jensen WeirGoal · Wigan Athletic
  4. Half-time
  5. 48′Max PowerGoal · Wigan Athletic
  6. 62′Alex GilbeyYellow card · Milton Keynes Dons
  7. 72′Dara CostelloeYellow card · Wigan Athletic
  8. 74′Jensen WeirGoal · Wigan Athletic
  9. 82′Aaron CollinsGoal · Milton Keynes Dons
  10. Full time
Player changes · 9grouped by team and minute
  • 22′Wigan Athletic · 1 player changeReggie Walsh
  • 46′Milton Keynes Dons · 2 player changesMarvin Ekpiteta · Alex Gilbey
  • 64′Milton Keynes Dons · 3 player changesSamuel Silvera · Aaron Collins · Dan Crowley
  • 66′Wigan Athletic · 2 player changesConnor Barrett · Jon Mellish
  • 74′Wigan Athletic · 1 player changeBradley Burrowes

Who started

Lineups

Show both lineups

Confirmed lineups as published before kick-off.

Wigan Athletic3-4-2-1
  1. Joe WhitworthG
  2. Morgan FoxD
  3. Finley BurnsD
  4. Fraser MurrayD
  5. Charlie GrayD
  6. James CarragherD
  7. Jensen WeirM
  8. Max PowerM
  9. Sonny PerkinsF
  10. Dara CostelloeF
  11. Luke HarrisF

Substitutes

  • Joe Walsh
  • Connor Barrett
  • Archie Harris
  • Jon Mellish
  • Reggie Walsh
  • Chris Sze
  • Bradley Burrowes
Milton Keynes Dons3-1-4-2
  1. Craig McGillivrayG
  2. Charlie GoodeD
  3. Cohen BramallD
  4. Ryan BarnettD
  5. Jack SandersD
  6. Curtis NelsonD
  7. Daniel BarlaserM
  8. Ryan WintleM
  9. Ben WilesM
  10. Sam NombeF
  11. Callum PatersonF

Substitutes

  • Will Dennis
  • Gethin Jones
  • Marvin Ekpiteta
  • Dan Crowley
  • Alex Gilbey
  • Aaron Collins
  • Samuel Silvera

History

Head-to-head

Recent meetings between these teams.

Last 5 meetings

0Wigan Athletic
1Draws
1Milton Keynes Dons
Milton Keynes Dons — Wigan Athletic · League One1–1
Wigan Athletic — Milton Keynes Dons · League One1–2

Head-to-Head & Recent Meetings

Metric comparison

Team comparison

Season averages, with the sample size beside each metric.

Where the edge is

Season: Wigan Athletic favored in 0 of 13 directional metrics · Milton Keynes Dons in 0 · 13 too close

led this metric higher value (descriptive) too close

Window

Season

Wigan Athletic4 matchesMilton Keynes Dons4 matches
1.25 goals/match ▲Goals scored4/41 goal/match
1.75 goals/matchGoals allowed4/4▲ 1.5 goals/match
2.35 xG/match ▲Expected goals4/41.62 xG/match
17.3 shots/match ▲Shots4/416 shots/match
4.25 shots/match ▲Shots on target4/43.5 shots/match
57.5% ●Possession4/442%
5.75 corners/match ●Corners4/45.25 corners/match
10.3 fouls/matchFouls4/410 fouls/match

Evidence quality

How much supports this analysis

Grade C · Limited evidenceLimited evidence — limited
Season samples4 / 4home / away teams
Recent samples4 / 4last-five windows
FreshnessLess than one dayfrom nearest prior match
  • At least one team has fewer than the configured season sample.
  • At least one team has an incomplete last-five window.

Known unknowns

  • Lineups, injuries, suspensions and tactical changes are not available in the retained dataset.
  • Some metrics are unavailable or below their observation minimum: cards.
  • The completed-match sample is too small for broad style conclusions.
Analysis cutoff: Wed, 2 Sept 2026, 22:45 UTC · analysis-v4

Team rankings in League One

Goals per match rankingxG per match rankingShots per match ranking
TeamsWigan AthleticMilton Keynes Dons
CompetitionLeague One
Head-to-headWigan Athletic — Milton Keynes Dons
MethodHow PitchMath calculates this

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