THE GROUND
DW Stadium
Loire Drive
Wigan
WN5 0UZ
The DW Stadium formerly the JJB Stadium, opened in 1999.
Wigan moved to the stadium from their former Springfield Park home, where they had played for 67 years.
The stadium, which is also the home of Wigan Warriors Rugby Football League Club, holds 25,168 supporters in four separate stands.
Away fans are usually seated in the North Stand, which holds 5,418.
THE TRAVEL ARRANGEMENTS
The DW Stadium is approximately 209 miles from Griffin Park by road.
The stadium is just off the A49, which is accessed from junction 25 of the M6.
There are signs to the stadium and to car parks.
Drivers can use Car Park One, reserved for away supporters, at a cost of £5 per car.
The nearest station is Wigan North Western, which is around a mile and a half from the ground.
Wigan North Western is served by Virgin Trains services from London Euston.
Wigan Wallgate Station is slightly further away and is served by Northern services from Manchester and Liverpool.
The Supporters’ Association will be running coaches to every game this season – details of times and prices will be announced in due course.
THE FIXTURES
Brentford will play Wigan away from home on Saturday October 18.
The Bees then welcome The Latics to Griffin Park on Saturday May 2, the final day of the season.
THE RECENT HISTORY
Wigan Athletic are set to begin only their fourth ever season in the second tier of English football and will start it as one of the favourites for promotion.
The Latics have had almost a decade of consistent success and even last season would be one they would remember.
Wigan only entered the Football League in 1978 and were a lower league team until Dave Whelan bought the Club in 1995.
The millionaire former footballer and owner of JJB Sports built a new stadium and oversaw promotion from the fourth tier in 1997.
It took them six years to get in to the second tier, losing in the Play-Offs three times, but they went up again, to the Premier League two years later.
The Latics were always among the favourites to go down but from 2005/06 to 2011/12 they stayed up, often comfortably.
They also reached the League Cup Final in 2006, losing to Manchester United.
The 2012/13 season was the best and worst in the same campaign – they won the FA Cup with a memorable win over Manchester City at Wembley but were relegated to The Championship.
After a slow start Uwe Rösler left Brentford to take over as manager and The Latics climbed the table.
They only lost two league games between December 7, when Rösler took over, and March 25 and they climbed in to the Play-Offs spots.
The Latics looked capable of mounting a press for automatic promotion but eventually finished fifth.
They then lost to Queens Park Rangers after extra time in the Play-Off Semi-Final.
There was also heartbreak in the FA Cup as Wigan conceded an equaliser in the last ten minutes of the Semi-Final to Arsenal and then lost on penalties.
Wigan will be hoping for less heartbreak this time around.
THE MANAGER
Uwe Rösler left his position as Brentford Manager to take the same role at Wigan in December.
He had been in charge at Griffin Park since the summer of 2011, securing a top ten finish in his first season in charge.
The Bees then finished third the following year before losing the Play-Off Final to Yeovil Town.
The 45-year-old left with The Bees fourth in Sky Bet League One last term and they went on to finish second and clinch promotion.
Rösler is best known for his days as a Manchester City striker and he also played for Southampton and West Bromwich Albion as well as Lillestrøm SK in Norway.
He started his career in his native Germany, born in East Germany before the fall of The Berlin Wall, and played for 1. FC Lokomtive Leipzig and Dynamo Dresden among others.
Rösler’s playing days were ended when he was diagnosed with cancer and he moved in to management, taking charge of Lillestrøm, Viking FK and Molde FK before arriving at Griffin Park.
THE TOP SCORER
Nick Powell scored 12 goals for Wigan in all competitions last season, seven in The Championship.
The 20-year-old spent the 2013/14 season on loan at The Latics from Manchester United.
He returned to Old Trafford at the end of the season.
Powell was joined by Jordi Gómez in scoring seven league goals last term.
Gómez also left in the summer, joining Sunderland after his Wigan contract expired.
THE KEY MEN
Wigan lost the two men who scored the most league goals for them last term – Powell and Gómez – and a few other key figures have left.
Chilean Jean Beausejour, who played in the World Cup this summer, left after playing 33 Championship games last term as did defender Stephen Crainey, who made 20 appearances.
Nicky Maynard, who scored four goals in 16 appearances, Ryan Tunnicliffe and Jack Collison left at the expiry of loan deals.
Wigan can still call on goalkeepers Scott Carson and Ali Al-Habsi, who played 40 games between them, and defenders Emmerson Boyce, James Perch and Leon Barnett – who each made more than 40 Championship appearances.
In midfield James McLean played 37 games and James McArthur 41 while winger Callum McManaman played 31.
Striker Martyn Waghorn scored five goals in 15 Championship games after signing from Leicester City and attacker Shaun Maloney scored three in ten games.
Also in the Wigan squad are Ben Watson, who scored the winner in the FA Cup Final in 2013, and Honduran international Roger Espinoza, who went to the World Cup.
Wigan have signed left back Andrew Taylor, from Cardiff City, this summer and James Tavernier, from Newcastle United, who excelled at right back for Rotherham United on loan last term.
Midfield player Don Cowie has also arrived from Cardiff while Oriol Riera joined from CA Osasuna.
THE FIRST MEETING
September 4 1982, Football League Division Three – Wigan Athletic 3 Brentford 2
Brentford line-up: Roche; Tucker, Booker, Whitehead, Wilkins; Roberts (sub Johnson), Kamara, Hurlock, Bowles; Joseph, Mahoney
Brentford goal scorers: Joseph, Mahoney
Brentford’s first away game of the Division Three season ends in defeat.
THE LAST MEETING
April 12 2003, Nationwide League Division Two – Wigan Athletic 2 Brentford 0
Brentford line-up: Smith; Dobson, Sonko, Roget, Somner; Rowlands (sub Vine (sub Constantine)), Fullarton, Evans, Hunt; O’Connor, Antoine-Curier
Subs (not used): Julian, Fieldwick, Frampton
Promotion-chasing Wigan Athletic scored two second half goals to beat Brentford and continue their march towards the second tier.
THE MEMORABLE DAY
June 1 1985, Freight Rover Trophy Final – Brentford 1 Wigan Athletic 3
Brentford line-up: Phillips; Salman, Wignall, Millen, Murray; Cassells, Kamara, Hurlock, Roberts; Cooke, Booker (sub Bullivant)
Brentford goal scorer: Cooke
Wigan Athletic win the Freight Rover Trophy on a sunny afternoon at Wembley as Brentford are beaten 3-1.
THE ODDS
Sky Bet is offering 9/1 on Wigan Athletic winning The Championship next season, they are joint third favourites.
Those who back The Latics can get ¼ of the odds if they finish in the top three.
Every bet you make with Sky Bet benefits Brentford FC –
to see the Championship market.