Wigan Athletic has had 6 opponents they detest playing against over the years (ranked).
The players that have caused Wigan Athletic the greatest issues over the years are examined by FLW.
Many Wigan Athletic fans have seen their side lock horns with some of the best players that world football has to offer.
That is, of course, because the Latics spent eight consecutive seasons in the Premier League against all odds from 2005 to 2013, where they eventually succumbed to relegation alongside Reading and QPR despite clinching a historic FA Cup triumph over Manchester City.
Unsurprisingly, Wigan encountered every player on this list while they were breaking into the Premier League, and it is also important to note some of the players who came dangerously close to making the cut.
Based on their goal records against the DW Stadium team, this list of players who have troubled Wigan the most leaves out Cristiano Ronaldo, Carlos Tevez, Frank Lampard, and Nicolas Anelka, despite their combined seven goals against the North West club.
You can see how highly regarded some of the names on this list actually are from that.
Robert Fletcher
Starting off this list is a somewhat less famed name, but Steven Fletcher was still a respectable goalscorer during his pomp and pulled no punches when pitted up against Wigan either, once again scoring eight goals in 12 matches.
Marlon Harewood
Marlon Harewood was a feared proposition during his time with Nottingham Forest and West Ham United, and the Latics will know about his goalscoring prowess better than most.
Indeed, no team conceded more goals to Harewood than Wigan’s eight, and they will be glad that he has been retired for the best part of a decade now.
Dimitar Berbatov
The third and final player tied on eight goals against Wigan is Dimitar Berbatov, who not only had one of the finest first touches the game has seen but also had an unwavering knack for rustling the Latics’ net!
An interminable thorn in the side, the Bulgarian forward struck twice for Spurs and dispatched five against Wigan during his time at Manchester United, including a hat-trick in a 5-0 rout back in the 2011/12 campaign.
Berbatov was so much more than simply a goalscorer during his illustrious playing days, so it is no shock that he also managed a commendable return of seven assists to go alongside the eight goals he scored in just 12 appearances.
Not bad…
Jermain Defoe
Jermain Defoe was one of the most instinctive and natural finishers in the country across his lengthy playing career, and Wigan felt the wrath of that far too many times – with the former England striker bagging 10 goals against them in 14 appearances.
The occasion that truly sticks out, though, is Tottenham Hotspur’s 9-1 demolition of the Latics in 2009, in which Defoe found the back of the net five times.
Robin Van Persie
Another iconic former Premier League striker, many teams were put to the sword by Robin Van Persie between the late 2000s and the early 2010s, and Wigan were absolutely no exception to that.
Van Persie did score once against the Latics for Arsenal back in 2005, though when he truly established himself as one of the leading forwards on the planet, they were powerless to prevent the Dutchman.
He scored a hat-trick in the 2010/11 season and two braces against them after moving to Old Trafford in 2012, leaving him with a total record of ten goals and four assists in 16 outings.
Wayne Rooney
No player has achieved a better overall record against the Latics than Wayne Rooney, who married his ten-goal haul with a further eight assists from 16 affairs.
He routinely terrorised Wigan during his iconic career with the Red Devils, and it will be no surprise to Wigan fans who watched Rooney against their side to see him top of this list.
