Football Bet of the Day: Mullin can become Wigan’s main man

It’s the weekend football fans up and down the country have been waiting for ever since the last whistle blew on the 2024/25 season. Supporters will begin their pilgrimages on Saturday morning as League 1 and League 2 clubs get their seasons underway. 

Below you will find Saturday’s Football Bet of the Day which picks out a selection from the Football League and looks to deliver some value on this special weekend. 

I’m excited about the dawn of another football season and I’m also excited about the potential resurgence of Wigan Athletic this term. Ryan Lowe came in towards the end of last season and Wigan went on a strange run of results which saw them win two, lose two and draw seven of his 11 games in charge. 

They ended 15th, but it feels like they could go higher given Lowe is a manager who seems to galvanise every side he is in charge of. He has promotions with Bury and Plymouth Argyle on his CV, with his work at the Pilgrims particularly eye-catching given he beat Kieran McKenna’s Ipswich Town to the League 1 title with a total of 101 points. 

Wigan vs Northampton Odds

I think Wigan are in for a good season and I like Lowe a lot, so I’m happy to side with Wigan in their opener against a Northampton Town (15:00, Sky Sports+) side that are one of the favourites to be relegated this season. Kevin Nolan came in back in December and won five of his 16 games last term as Northampton finished 19th and secured survival. 

However, they conceded 66 goals last term and with the league looking stronger at the bottom this term, they could struggle. It means I am predicting Wigan to beat Northampton relatively comfortably in the opening game, but that isn’t my Football Bet of the Day.

Today's Football Fixtures

Instead, I’m backing a Wigan goalscorer that has become pretty famous over the last few years. Wrexham forward Paul Mullin joins on loan from the now-Championship side and he has had a couple of seasons on the sidelines since firing the Welsh side up to League 1. 

But Lowe is massively confident he can get the best out of Mullin. "You only have to look at his record, he's scored 200 career goals and I see a little bit of resemblance to myself in Mulls because of what he's done and where he's come from at non-league right up to the Championship," Lowe told BBC Radio Manchester.

"When there's a goal-scorer like that, of that ilk, it's important that I make sure I act on that and to be fair to Mulls with the conversation I had, there was only one club he wanted to come to and that was us.

"He could have sat on the bench at Wrexham and made some cameos but he's chose to come here and hopefully score loads of goals."

Lowe was a top striker in his own right, scoring over 200 career goals up and down the Football League and so I trust his judgement on Mullin right now. I also trust him to give Mullin plenty of starts and if he starts in the EFL, he tends to score goals. 

I think Mullin can endear himself to the Wigan faithful with a goal against a weak outfit that I think may be at risk of relegation. Mullin to score against Northampton is our Football Bet of the Day for Saturday.

Offers

Place an In-Play bet of £10 or more (odds 1/2+) on any League 1 / League 2 or SPL match played on Friday or Saturday and get £5 in Free Bets to use In-Play on Sunday’s League 1 and SPL matches.

Acca Flex: Place a pre-match 5+ leg Football accumulator and get a CASH bonus up to 100% if all of your selections win or your money back as CASH if one leg lets you down

Click here for the latest Football Odds

You can read all our latest Football Bet of the Day offerings at our dedicated Betfred Insights content hub