Wigan Athletic will begin the 2026/27 EFL season when they travel to Oakwell to face Barnsley in the Carabao Cup First Round on Saturday. Manager Gary Caldwell says his side are ready for the competitive fixture after weeks of pre-season preparation.
Following significant changes to the playing squad over the summer, Caldwell believes the groundwork laid during pre-season has prepared Latics for the challenge ahead. A place in the Second Round of the competition is at stake.
Caldwell Ready for First Test
Speaking ahead of the trip to South Yorkshire, Caldwell said: "I'm really looking forward to it. It's a game that matters, a game that means something. Pre-season games are always difficult from that point of view, where you need something at stake, points at stake or cup progression. We've had a good seven weeks, where we've worked on a lot of things, built a lot of new relationships and played some games, so we're ready to go and attack the season now."
Caldwell acknowledged the scale of the summer rebuild. "It was always going to be a big rebuild this summer with a lot of players leaving the Club and a lot of new players coming into the Club," he said. "Performances in particular have progressed throughout pre-season. Obviously, results aren't where we want them to be, but I think that is a good thing that we can demand more from the players and push them to different levels."
Caldwell warned that Barnsley will pose different questions to those faced during pre-season. "The first few games are always difficult because you can only judge other teams from pre-season," he added. "You can never analyse the games in great depth because of the amount of subs they bring on or changes in shape they might make, but we've watched all of Barnsley's games, and we have to be ready to adapt and clear about how we want to play the game."
