Wigan Athletic face ultimate test against 'strongest side in division' Peterborough United

Shaun Maloney is hoping to repeat the 2-1 home victory over Peterborough earlier in the season

That's the view of Shaun Maloney, who masterminded a 2-1 victory over Darren Ferguson's high-flying Posh at the DW earlier this season, but who knows Latics have a job on their hands to complete a double in the south east.

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“We’ll go there to make things as difficult as we can for Peterborough, and we’ll try and impress how we play on them," said the Latics boss.

“Last time I spoke about them being the hardest team I have analysed, and it hasn’t changed.

“The manager and his staff have done a brilliant job, and they have a really good team.

“Depending on how we press, they will try and adapt to that, so we have to be really adaptable.

“I am looking forward to the game...I still think they’re the strongest side in the league, and it’ll be a huge test for us, but let’s see what we’ve got.

“We have to make decisions on how aggressive we are going to be, both with and without the ball.

"I'm pretty sure they'll try to press us high, they've got a couple of very quick wingers, and they've just signed another one, so we're expecting them to be very aggressive.

"But we'll never take a step back in the way we want to play.

"We might make mistakes, but I know in the long run this will stand us in good stead.

"It's the DNA of the club I know, and we just need to get better at what we're trying to do."

Maloney is hoping recent recruit Charlie Goode will be fit for the trip after missing last weekend's home defeat to Stevenage with a shoulder injury.

“It’ll be tight for him, he’s struggling with any contact at the moment, but we’ll give him until the last moment," said the Scot.

Fellow new-boy Charlie Kelman, who arrived from QPR on Wednesday, is also giving food for thought.

"He trained partly on Thursday, the plan was to try to build him up for the Exeter game (next weekend), but we'll make that decision on Friday," added Maloney.

Meanwhile, defender Tom Pearce is back in full training, having been out for two months with a knee problem.