Morning all! The first Football League game today takes place in the North-West as Wigan face Leeds in the Championship. Let's get straight to the team news...

WIGAN XI: Al Habsi; Boyce, Ramis, Kiernan, Crainey; Perch, McArthur; McManaman, Gomez, Waghorn; Powell

WIGAN SUBS: Carson, Maloney, McClean, Barnett, Maynard, Fortune, Collison

LEEDS XI: Butland; Wootton, Lees, Pearce; Byram, Warnock; Brown, Tonge; McCormack, Smith, Hunt

LEEDS SUBS: Cairns, Mowatt, Zaliukas, Poleon, Pugh, Murphy, Stewart

Visitors Leeds make a couple of changes to the side that were beaten at home by lowly Charlton Athletic on Tuesday. Aidy White and Alex Mowatt drop out, with Michael Brown and Noel Hunt coming into the team.

Latics boss Uwe Rosler does the same, dropping Nicky Maynard and Jack Collison to the bench as Callum McManaman and Martyn Waghorn come in.

LAST TIME OUT! Things were oh so different when Leeds saw off Wigan 2-0 in the reverse fixture in December. Ross McCormack scored two of his 27 league goals that day to take the Whites within two points of the playoff places.

After their recent slump in form, Brian McDermott's men have plummeted into the bottom half.

Wigan, meanwhile, are fifth in the table. Six points clear of the sides outside the playoff places but 15 shy of Burnley in the second automatic promotion spot. Rosler must therefore be already thinking about the playoffs, for which the dates were released by the Football League earlier this week.

REFEREE WATCH! The man with the whistle today is Neil Swarbrick, who was also at the DW Stadium on Tuesday night as the fourth official as Wigan held league leaders Leicester to a 2-2 draw.

Leeds's Twitter has just said: "Great gesture by @LaticsOfficial encouraging all fans to join in applause after 14 minutes in memory of Chris Loftus and Kevin Speight (the two fans who were stabbed to death 14 years ago today ahead of a European tie at Galatasaray)."

PREDICTION TIME! The two teams have just come out of the tunnel and kickoff is moments away. It's almost impossible to not side with Wigan here and I fancy the Latics to get a 3-1 win.

KICKOFF! And we're off at the DW Stadium!

BOOKING! A yellow card for Wigan's Perch already after he went up for a header with Warnock and planted an elbow on the Leeds man. It might have been accidental, but it was reckless from the former Newcastle man.

Leeds have the best travelling support in the division and they're making plenty of noise early on. They're all still extremely frustrated with the takeover saga, with most praying that Massimo Cellino is granted permission to buy the club next week.

The visitors' current formation means that the league's top scorer McCormack is having to play from the left wing. He won't score as many goals from there but has just done well to win a corner. It comes to nothing.

Leeds have brought around 3,500 fans here today:

Hardly any action of note in the first 10 minutes. Leeds have started well though and just had a half-chance at the back post where Warnock attempted a first-time volley but pulled it all the way across the face of goal.

BOOKING! It's now one apiece on the yellow-card count as Wootton clatters into Powell from behind and is rightly cautioned by Swarbrick.

Nice touch from all four corners of the ground as they all put their hands together in memory of Loftus and Speight.

CLOSE! Best chance of the game so far as Gomez delivers into the middle where Perch can only get a slight flick on the ball with his header and the ball flashes wide.

Perch is a very, very lucky boy! He goes up for another header with Warnock and just like in the first minute when he got a booking, digs his elbow into the Leeds left-back's head. If Swarbrick is going to book him for one, he has to do it again and send him off.

Good chance for Leeds on the counter-attack and you'd back McCormack in a one-on-one against Scottish teammate McArthur, but it's the latter who times his tackle well to prevent a shooting opportunity.

BOOKING! Swarbrick is certainly more than happy to flash his cards today, now booking Gomez for a slightly late tackle on Lees. A bit harsh on the Wigan man.

Gomez isn't deterred by the yellow card and goes close with a 25-yard low shot that fizzes just past the post. Butland might have had it covered but was still worried.

Here's big Leeds striker Matt Smith trying to win the ball against McArthur and Ramis:

Matt Smith. pic.twitter.com/OhOJOLH1Ay — LUFC Pictures (@LUFCPictures) April 5, 2014

Al-Habsi pulls off a brilliant save to keep out Hunt, but it wouldn't have counted anyway as the Irishman had strayed half a yard offside.

Gomez whips in another delivery that is met by a blue-and-white shirt but headed straight at Butland.

The home side go in front as they zip the ball around nicely on the edge of the box before McArthur is brought down. Swarbrick doesn't blow up straight away as the loose ball falls to Waghorn who curls it low towards the corner where Butland can only push it into the corner. The Stoke City loanee should have done better as he got a decent hand to it.

What a couple of days it's been for Waghorn, who yesterday signed a permanent deal with the Latics.

Leeds have a free kick out on the right that McCormack whips over menacingly. There's plenty of gold Leeds shirts in there but none of them can make good contact. If they go in behind at the break then the mood in the dressing room will be ever so glum.

BOOKING! Brown has a history of ill discipline and goes into the book after a completely unnecessary barge on Gomez, who was basically off the pitch when it happened.

Hunt throws his arms up in disgust after McCormack's attempted cross is easily cut out. Hunt did really well initially to win the ball so that's why he was more irked.

THREE minutes of added time has been signalled by the fourth official because of the early Warnock stoppage and four bookings that we've had in the opening 45.

"WHEEEEY!" jeer the Leeds fans as a Wigan short-corner routine is blazed almost out of the stadium by Gomez. That should be the last action of the first half.

No surprise on the scoreboard then as Wigan are in front. The Latics were heavy favourites today and have a one-goal lead thanks to Martyn Waghorn's precise strike.

If you're only just joining us on SM and want a quick update on how the first 45 went, read our half-time report here.

UPDATE: There's also an early Premier League game today. It's at the Etihad where Manchester City are leading Southampton 1-0 already thanks to Yaya Toure's third-minute penalty. There's just been some terrible news for England's World Cup squad as Southampton's Jay Rodriguez appears to have severely injured himself. Open this link in a new tab to get the latest with Jack Prescott.

As things stand in the Championship, Wigan are going nine points clear of seventh-placed Forest and are surely going to be in the playoffs in a month's time.

KICKOFF! The second half is underway at the DW. No half-time changes from either manager.

Wigan have an early chance at the start of the second period as the ball is rolled into Perch, who strikes it hard and low but is denied by an excellent Warnock block.

Leeds might have to resort to long-ball tactics to Smith if nothing else works and it almost pays off as the big striker wins a header in the box but just can't pick out McCormack with his knock-down.

Leeds top scorer McCormack is said to be struggling with a cold and has just popped a couple of pills on the touchline to help the situation. You would have thought that he would have done that at half time.

WIGAN SUB: Rosler makes an early second-half change as Powell trudges off with what could be a slight problem. Jack Collison is on in his place, which should see Waghorn go further up front.

Crainey misjudges a bouncing ball deep on the Wigan left, allowing Byram in behind to smash a speculative volley into the heart of the travelling Leeds fans. Probably should have looked for Hunt in the middle with a cross.

CHANCE! Leeds are still to properly test Al-Habsi and this might be their best chance yet as Smith gets up well but can only head high and wide from inside the area. Should have done better there.

BOOKING! A fifth yellow card and third for Wigan as Ramis is cautioned.

WIGAN SUB: Moments later, Rosler makes his second substitution as James McClean replaces McManaman.

Great couple of minutes for Leeds but they're still struggling to really carve out a decent opening. Tonge's shot is going wide but takes a big deflection to send it goalwards where it's straight at Al-Habsi and doesn't catch the Omani out.

Today's attendance at the DW is 16,443, with 3,404 Leeds fans making the trip West.

WIGAN SUB: Rosler has now used all three of his substitutes as Marc-Antoine Fortune replaces goalscorer Waghorn, who's been quiet in the second half.

LEEDS SUB: McDermott responds by making his first change, bringing on the young pace of Dom Poleon for Hunt. The visitors continue to barely threaten in the final third and will be looking for Poleon's fresh legs to worry the hosts' backline.

Almost for Leeds at the back post where McCormack's cross is just too high, even for the giant Smith.

If Leeds to end up losing today, they will drop to 16th today as the two sides below them, Huddersfield and Bolton, play each other and whatever the outcome, one of the two will go above them.

Tensions running very high on the pitch as Swarbrick continues to struggle to handle some hot tempers. Brown has been getting on the nerves of Wigan's players all game long and angers Gomez with an elbow after seemingly trying to innocent back towards the Wigan man. He could have been sent off there. Not the best display from Swarbrick, who set an early precedent for giving out yellow cards and has struggled ever since.

Considering how solid Wigan have been of late, Leeds have done really well to have more possession (53%). Unfortunately for the visitors, they are so short of confidence going forward at the moment.

CLOSE! Almost league goal number 28 for McCormack as he collects Smiths's prod through and attempts a chip into the far corner. Al-Habsi doesn't see it coming and is rooted to the spot as the ball floats over his head but wide of the far post. Great effort.

Smith battles well in the air to win a corner. It's swung over deep to the back post where Pearce gets up well but can only loop a header well over the crossbar. Time running out for the Yorkshire side.

MISS! Oh what a miss from Gomez. The Spaniard should wrap up the points as he meets Fortune's cutback on the half-volley but can only slice it miles wide on his usually-assured left foot.

FOUR added minutes left for Leeds to salvage a point. I can't see it happening.

Glimpses at both ends but both Poleon and Fortune are well tackled by Boyce and Byram. That should be that.

It might be a seventh defeat in the last eight games for Leeds, but there is possibly great news for the club as BBC Radio Leeds are reporting that Massimo Cellino HAS WON his appeal and will complete a 75% takeover of the cub.

For Wigan, they didn't play well today but found the net to beat a Leeds side completely devoid of any confidence going forward.

Victory takes Wigan nine points clear of the nearest duo outside of the playoffs - Nottingham Forest and Ipswich Town. It looks like places three, four and five are almost sewn up and that around five or six teams will battle it out for the final playoff spot in the final month of the season.

We need to dash from this commentary but thanks for joining us on Sports Mole. As it's Grand National day, I'll give you my tip of Burton Port just before I go. Good luck with whoever you've backed!