FA Cup 2/1 Acca – Gab Sutton

After a poor run of form, Wigan have shown some signs of life in the league, with a 1-0 home victory over Port Vale followed by a valuable away point at Mansfield, although they didn’t have quite as many spells of territorial dominance as they might have liked at Field Mill.

Nonetheless, the Latics have attacking wingbacks in Fraser Murray and Joseph Hungbo, and a creative attacking midfielder in Oliver Cooper, who has impressed in the Championship before.

Ryan Lowe’s side have a top young goalkeeper, too, in Sam Tickle, who’s hoping to recover his exceptional 2024-25 form.

Hemel Hempstead Town are flying high in fourth in the National League South, showing some defensive qualities – with nine goals conceded in 13 – that they’ll need in West Lancashire, but the hosts should have too much.

Grimsby Town’s EFL Cup adventures, that brought victories over Manchester United and Sheffield Wednesday, and a clash with Brentford in midweek, may have whet their appetites for another cup run.

Last season, David Artell’s side might have struggled with the volume of games that would have accompanied a cup run, but this year they have greater squad depth, meaning they can rotate without a significant drop in quality.

The Mariners are thriving in League Two, having amassed 24 points from their first 14 games, which sees them sitting pretty in sixth, just a point off the automatic spots.

Visitors Ebbsfleet are struggling for goals in the National League South, with the midtable side having scored just 15 times in 13 games under rookie boss Josh Wright.

Blackpool have the feel-good factor for Saturday’s game, as Ian Evatt makes his homecoming as manager, having been part of the team that won promotion to the Premier League as a player in 2009-10.

Evatt will get a great reception, which should boost the early atmosphere and give the Tangerines the confidence to take the game by the scruff early on, especially after starting Evatt’s reign with a 2-1 league victory at Peterborough.

The Seasiders might lie in the League One drop zone at the moment, but they were widely tipped for a Play-Off challenge before the season ends and have enough good players to suggest they could string some form together under new management.

Visitors Scunthorpe are going well in the National League, sitting 2nd with 33 points from their first 16 games, but there’s a two-division gap between Evatt’s side and that of visiting boss Andy Butler, who had a brief loan spell at Bloomfield Road in 2010.