Wigan v Stoke

Wigan Athletic V Stoke City

Saturday, 4th December – 15:00 (GMT)

Venue: DW Stadium

Wigan Athletic

Despite watching his side record back-to-back league defeats in quick succession on top of a bitter exit at the quarter-final stage of the League Cup, Wigan boss Roberto Martinez believes he still has an awful lot to be enthusiastic about at the DW. We’d like to know exactly what as the Latics are in a bit of a quandary at the present and another defeat on Saturday, which would be their third on the bounce, could send the club to the basement of the Premier League.

The last two weeks has been a difficult little period for Wigan, although it was also an eye-opener that despite springing a surprise at the beginning of the campaign with a sublime 1-0 win away to Tottenham Hotspur, Wigan are very much a weaker outfit on the road. Two league encounters and an exciting last-eight meeting with Arsenal in the Carling Cup, all of which were away from home, have resulted in the Latics hitting yet another flat spot. It’s now three defeats on the spin for Martinez’s men and although they will make a welcome return home to the DW, where they’re unbeaten in their last four league contests, you cannot help but wander what the atmosphere in camp is now like following a dismal run of form.

In fairness, few actually expected to get anything from their midweek clash with the Gunners, so to lose by just 2-0 was actually a credit to them, although I’m sure Roberto Martinez won’t see it that. Defeat is all the same to managers. However, the respectable scoreline hid what was a one-sided clash in a match where Wigan’s lack of depth and cover was exposed. Arsenal also made several changes but yet still managed to overawe and outplay the Latics, who had salt well and truly rubbed into their wounds when promising prospect Victor Moses left proceedings on a stretch only to later be diagnosed with a dislocated shoulder. Moses, a former youth product of Crystal Palace and scorer of his first ever Premier League goal in Wigan’s last home match – A 1-0 win over West Brom – is now set to miss the next three months of action.

There were, though, no excuses for their atrocious display away to West Ham last Saturday, who were and still are bottom of the league. It wasn’t the first and it most definitely will not be the last, but once again Wigan failed to even turn up  in an away fixture, with Tom Cleverely’s late consolation at Upton Park the only positive to take away from their trip to the capital. On top of that, Mauro Boselli, the player the club spent big money on over the summer, missed a second half penalty in pathetic fashion.

All in all, a dire fortnight for Wigan Athletic and manager Roberto Martinez. The Spaniard is at least thankful that this weekend his side are playing at home, although I very much doubt too many of the home support will bother to turn up – They barely do anyway but with the conditions as cold as they are, it’s an easy excuse for a set of supporters who lost their Premier League enthusiasm a long time ago. Nevertheless, the Latics will be confident of their chances on the back of such a fruitful run of form at home which has seen them collect eight points from a possible twelve at the DW in their last four matches. However, in the same successful period they did only manage five goals, while Wigan are the lowest scoring home side in the Premier League. To make matters a whole lot worse, Hugo Rodellega, scorer of three of those goals just mentioned, is unavailable through suspension.

Stoke City

Stoke are proving to be one of those teams you need to latch onto when they’re hot, with momentum so often pivotal when it comes to correctly predicting an outcome whenever the Potters are involved. So on the back of a four-match unbeaten run which has seen them pick up ten points, two points shy of maximums spoils, punters should be racing down to their local bookies to get a bit of the outrageous odds on Stoke to win Saturday’s clash with a now out of sorts, down in the dumps Wigan Athletic.

Thanks to Matthew Etherington’s stoppage time goal last Saturday, Stoke maintained their unbeaten stance in the Premier League by snatching a share of the spoils at home to Manchester City. On the basis of play and how Stoke found themselves being outplayed for large periods, it was a very good point on reflection. Then again it did halt a run of three successive victories and with Stoke renowned for going off the boil this season when kick-starting a new month, perhaps the late show at the Brittania last weekend was a sign that the Potters could be about to revert to their frustrating losing ways.

For those who are superstitious, a little like me, you’ll probably find yourself a little perturbed with Stoke’s love and hate relationship with alternating months this season. In August they lost all three league fixtures, went unbeaten throughout the whole of September (3 Wins and 1 Draw), were dire during October when winning one and losing four of five league fixtures but once again bounced back to form in November. Now we’ve embarked upon the festive season, with Christmas and the New Year on the immediate horizon, and where most teams will be excited about the prospect of a fresh leaf, Stoke fans must be scared senseless as a new month bursts into life. Moreover, months don’t come more tougher than December, where the fixtures come thick and fast and most managers even claim can be the month which defines a team imminent future.

If this was any other team, heading into a busy festive period on the back of such a high, with the Potters unbeaten in four in the league, would be considered a huge head start. However, we cannot help but have our concerns over what is a bizarre tendency Stoke have for turning off and on this monthly switch in form. But if you can ignore the annoying statistics and trends, Stoke are actually a stunning bet. After all, they’re the team boasting all the form, have an abundance of confidence and are even on the lookout for their second successive away win, after they impressively beat West Brom at The Hawthorns in their most recent away league encounter. We, though, simply cannot ignore Stoke’s frustrating habits especially as those habits are supported by an inadequate away record which reads 2 WINS and 5 LOSSES.

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Form

Wigan Athletic

Carling Cup: Arsenal – Wigan Athletic

Premier League: West Ham 3-1 Wigan Athletic

Premier League: Manchester United 2-0 Wigan Athletic

Premier League: Wigan Athletic 1-0 West Brom

Premier League: Wigan Athletic 1-1 Liverpool

Stoke City

Premier League: Stoke City 1-1 Manchester City

Premier League: West Brom 0-3 Stoke City

Premier League: Stoke City 2-0 Liverpool

Premier League: Stoke City 3-2 Birmingham City

Premier League: Sunderland 2-0 Stoke City

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Statistics

Wigan Athletic

League Position: 18th

Win/Draw/Lose: 3-5-7 (Home: 2-3-3)

Goal Difference: 11-26 (Home: 6-15)

Form: LDWLL (Home: LWDDW)

Top Goalscorer: Hugo Rodellega (4)

Stoke City

League Position: 8th

Win/Draw/Lose: 6-2-7 (Away: 2-0-5)

Goal Difference: 19-19 (Away: 7-10)

Form: LWWWD (Away: WLLLW)

Top Goalscorer: Kenwyn Jones (4)

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Hot & Cold Bets

Hot:

Draw (3.30 StanJames) - These two have proven almost inseperable in the recent Premier League contests, with three of the last four meetings ending in stalemate.

0-0 Half-Time Correct Score (2.75 Unibet) - It would be typical for this bet to fall flat on its face, but the fact that Wigan haven’t conjured a first half goal at their DW Stadium in the league all season long combined with Stoke’s inability to score an away goal in the first half makes this bet come across as a banker.

Cold:

Kenwyn Jones to Score (3.00 Coral) - After a blistering start to his Stoke career, scoring in his first four competitive starts, Trinidad & Tobago forward Kenwyn Jones has hit the back of the net on just one occasions in Stoke’s last nine league matches.

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Match Prediction: Draw – 3.30 StanJames

Not a match I’d ideally want to get involved in if I can help it, with Wigan unpredictable at the best of times while Stoke, despite showing a resilient side to them during their 3-0 annihilation of West Brom in their previous away league encounter, are typically below par away from home.

The narrow vote would head in Stoke’s direction merely because of their recent form of having won three of their last four matches, without losing in that period as well. With that said, although Wigan have lost their last two league matches, both of those were on the road whereas back at home, at the DW Stadium, the Latics are unbeaten in their last four, winning two of those without conceding a goal. If anything, there’s nothing to separate the two. Stoke’s aerial prowess may well cause the Wigan defence problems however, whereas Wigan are still without their top scorer in Hugo Rodellega.

We’re desperate to sit on the fence for once here by highlighting the draw, but Stoke are the only one of the two I’d be willing to stick my pennies on. Furthermore, three of the four Premier League meetings between the two have finished in a draw!

Match Odds

Wigan Athletic – 2.88 BetFred

Draw – 3.30 StanJames

Stoke City - 2.75 PaddyPower

The English Premier League

Midweek Fixtures

Tuesday, 9^th February 2009

19:45 GMT – Manchester City (1.44 Bet365) V Bolton Wanderers (9.00 SkyBet)

19:45 GMT – Portsmouth (2.50 PaddyPower) V Sunderland (3.20 VCbet)

19:45 GMT – Wigan Athletic (2.25 Boylesports) V Stoke City (3.60 VCbet)

20:00 GMT – Fulham (1.73 Bet365) V Burnley (5.50 PaddyPower)

Wednesday, 10^th February

19:45 GMT – Arsenal (2.10 Bet365) V Liverpool (3.90 Expekt) ARSENAL V LIVERPOOL DETAILED PREVIEW!

19:45 GMT – Aston Villa (4.30 VCbet) V Manchester United (1.91 Boylesports) VILLA V MAN UNITED DETAILED PREVIEW

19:45 GMT – West Ham United (2.30 PaddyPower) V Birmingham City (3.50 Coral)

19:45 GMT – Wolverhampton Wanderers (4.50 SkyBet) V Tottenham Hotspur (1.91 Bet365)

20:00 GMT – Blackburn Rovers (1.91 VCbet) V Hull City (4.50 Boylesports)

20:00 GMT – Everton (5.50 BlueSquare) V Chelsea (1.73 Bet365)

Live Games:

Manchester City V Bolton Wanderers – Sky Sports 2

Arsenal V Liverpool - Sky Sports 2

The live action kicks off with Man City entertaining Owen Coyle’s Bolton at The City of Manchester stadium as the home side aim to bounce straight back from their shock defeat to Hill City at the weekend. The blue half of Manchester are still dreaming of Champions League football for next season, but could find themselves settling for The Europa League if City‘s performances don’t improve, starting with the arrival of Bolton Wanderers, a side who themselves cannot afford to drop too many points, with Bolton hovering just above the relegation zone. A victory for Man City would lift them above Liverpool and into fourth position, their target destination, whereas defeat for Bolton could see them go into the weekends fixtures in the relegation zone if results elsewhere don’t go in their favour. Another shock, however, an away win for Bolton, could lift Bolton as high as 14^th in the table.

No doubt the fixture which has the most appeal, especially with neutral viewers, is the Arsenal V Liverpool clash which will be shown LIVE on Sky Sports on Wednesday night. Arsenal, after yet another defeat to a title rival, pin their revival challenge on a victory over Liverpool on Wednesday night as The Gunners fall nine points off the pace after their 2-0 loss at Stamford Bridge on Sunday. Liverpool, though, have their own reasons, equally as important, as to why they desperately need all three points as they aim to cement their top four stance with their first win at The Emirates since 2000. Liverpool are having to fend off the challenge from Tottenham Hotspur, Aston Villa & Man City for a Champions League berth next season and will boost their chances of finishing in fourth spot immensely with victory over The Gunners. A victory for the away side, a Liverpool WIN, would also bring Arsenal right back into the equation and loosen up two Champions League spots instead of the solitary one the teams have been chasing for the past two or so months. A big game in which a win for either side could have a huge impact on how the positions at the top of the table could be finalised.

The rest of the action goes as follows; Portsmouth, a team who appeared destined for the drop after news of yet more financial unrest, take on Sunderland at Fratton Park in a home fixture they just have to win. However, you wouldn’t fancy either sides chances, with Pompey losing five of their previous six league encounters and Sunderland not winning a Premiership fixture since the middle of November, going eleven games without a win. With this in mind, perhaps a small punt on the draw (3.30 Boylesports) could be worthwhile?

It’s a relegation six-pointer at The DW stadium as Bolton take on Wigan Athletic in a must win clash for either side. For now, though, both are on dry land but a loss for either side could see them spend the rest of this week in the bottom three. Home advantage does make Wigan the favourites, although they haven’t won in three at home, while Bolton won’t attract too many punters after not managing an away win since September, going seven games without any success on the road. Also, both teams are still searching for their first win of 2010. Not another draw (3.40 Boylesports), surely?

Fulham are going through an indifferent spell of late but have now opened up another potential unbeaten run after going two games unbeaten following their 0-0 draw away at Bolton. A win for the Cottagers would keep them in the upper half of the table until the weekend. Their opponents, however, are struggling to fend off the relegation zone but did give their chances a big boost with victory over West Ham United on Saturday, winning 2-1 at Turf Moor. However, Burnley are big ‘underdogs’ in this contest as they haven’t won an away fixture all season, losing 11 of 12 away Premiership fixtures.

A stuttering Aston Villa play host to a Manchester United side on fire at the moment. Villa have managed just one league victory in their last six, which is in stark contrast to their opponents who have won four on the trot, five in their last seven and are unbeaten in seven games. However, Villa are on the verge of completing an historic league double over United but are in need of a big performance to beat the Premiership champions on Wednesday night. Defeat for Villa would dampen their charge for a top four finish while victory for United would keep the pressure on Chelsea, perhaps even take them top if Chelsea don’t produce the goods elsewhere at Goodison.

West Ham meet Birmingham at Upton Park in a rare meeting for both sides. However, it’s Birmingham who arrive with the better form after returning to winning ways with a 2-1 win at home to Wolves. The Hammers, however, succumbed to their eleventh defeat of the campaign as they lost 2-1 at Burnley. West Ham are desperate for points though, but will need a mammoth display to overhaul Birmingham, whom have lost just once in fourteen league fixtures. However, West Ham are unbeaten in three at Upton Park and are boosted by their flurry of forward arrivals in January, so perhaps the home side can overpower a tough and resilient Birmingham side.

Wolves go seeking a first win in seven as they entertain a Tottenham side who have drawn far too many games recently. However, the same could be said for Wolves in terms of losing games, with Wolves losing four of their last five league games, whilst Tottenham have drawn four of their last seven. However, surely Tottenham will be fired up for this encounter and should be good for the win in the knowledge that they must avenge the home defeat they suffered at the hands of Wolves back in December. The problem for Spurs though, has been scoring goals, with Harry Redknapp‘s side scoring just one in their last three away outings. Wolves haven’t been much cop in front of goal either, with Mick McCarthy‘s men not scoring a single goal in any of their last three home fixtures. Perhaps a drab affair (Under 2.5 Goals – 1.85 SportingBet) could be on the cards at Molineux?

Another potential six-pointer as Blackburn welcome the arrival of Hull City in a game they will be supremely confident of getting all three points in. Rovers have played their best football, and gotten the vast majority of their points, in home games this season and should be too strong, on paper anyway, for their opponents, Hull, who haven’t won away from The KC stadium all season. Hull were annihilated in their last away fixture, losing 4-0 at Man City, and they could fall to a similar fate at Ewood Park as Blackburn Rovers have won their last two fixtures at home, beating both Fulham & Wigan Athletic. An away win is big, but tasty nevertheless, and it’s not asking an awful lot to expect a big performance from the Tigers after their weekend heroics over Man City, beating the mega-rich Manchester club 2-1 at The KC on Saturday.

Another eye-catching fixture is the last on the card – Everton V Chelsea. I’m sure most of you will remember the problems Everton caused Chelsea’s defence in the earlier meeting between the two at Stamford Bridge of which Everton scored three. Of course, Chelsea did put the same amount past Tim Howard but it was Everton who claimed the plaudits that day and are still to this day the only team to have taken anything away from Stamford Bridge. However, the two sides had contrasting results at the weekend, with Everton losing a bitter derby contest with Liverpool and Chelsea winning their London derby with Arsenal. Everton were, though, unbeaten in nine before their loss at Anfield, but has the momentum been lost and will Chelsea continue their surge as they set out to make it six wins in seven in the Premiership.