Wigan Athletic V West Ham United

Wigan Athletic V West Ham United

Kick-Off: Saturday 12^th September – 15:00 GMT

Venue: The DW Stadium

Wigan Athletic

League Position: 16th

Recent Form: WLLL

Wigan’s opening day victory away at Villa Park, against Martin O’Neill’s Aston Villa, seems just a distant memory now, with Wigan putting in some rather bizarre performances off the back of that fine result. They followed that opening day success up with three defeats in quick succession, losing at home to both Wolves & Manchester United, while they were a tad unfortunate away at Everton in their most recent league outing, losing 2-1 via a late Leighton Baines penalty. That’s now three defeats in four and it’s left Wigan hovering above the relegation zone. Were they to make it four defeats on the trot, Wigan could drop down into the bottom three for the first time this season.

Roberto Martinez was receiving all the praise after Wigan’s fine performance against Villa on the opening day, with Wigan winning 2-0 in a turn up for the books. However, they’ve been extremely poor recently, especially in their home games. They were on the wrong end of a shock result themselves when Wolves beat them 1-0 at The DW Stadium while Man Utd cruised to victory, smashing five past Wigan in a 5-0 rout. Wigan have now conceded six goals in two home fixtures, having yet to score themselves. 

Wigan can play attractive football at times and this was evident on the opening day, however, they were made to look utter fools in their two home games, with Wigan’s frailties at the back exposed for all to see in both. The likes of Paul Scharner & Mario Melchiot, both defenders, really need to up their game else Wigan could be on the wrong end of another home spanking.

West Ham United

League Position: 11th

Recent Form: WLD

West Ham, under the guidance of Gianfranco Zola & Steve Clarke, have been transformed into a very tough team to beat. They’re solid, compact, and, with the in-form Carlton Cole, a real threat when going forward. Hearing those sort of compliments about any West Ham side is usually unheard of but it’s true, West Ham are a changed side and you better believe it. They’ve already proven how resilient they are this season with some very creditable results, they even come out with some ounce of credit in defeat. West Ham’s only disappointment so far came in the form of a 2-1 home defeat to league leaders Tottenham Hotspur. West Ham didn’t deserve to lose and were it not for some stupid, but costly, mistakes, West Ham might have won that game. 

That’s our only real concern with this West Ham side right now, silly little mistakes seem to creep into their play. If they can cut them out then they could be a real force this season as they’re a very good side. Mark Noble & Scott Parker are very compact and mistake proof in the centre of the park while Matthew Upson has been their rock at the back. However, the biggest plus point about West Ham is they now have a potential match winner in Carlton Cole. He has come on leaps and bounds throughout the last year or so and us, as well as the West ham fans, are expecting big things from the England hopeful.

West Ham will approach this away fixture with caution, sitting on the back foot with the view to hit Wigan on the break in a bid to expose their vulnerable back line. West Ham have already been out on their travels twice in the league, beating Wolves on the opening day 2-0, and then drawing 0-0 away at Blackburn, their most recent outing in the league.

Head-to-Head:

Wigan W: 3 West Ham W: 4 Draws: 1

This fixture has generally been a close run affair but an interesting pattern is that home advantage seems to play no part whatsoever. Wigan have beaten West Ham twice at Upton Park but, more importantly, West Ham have won three of the last four league encounters at The JJB stadium, now known as the DW stadium. West Ham beat Wigan 0-1 at this very same venue last season and a similar scoreline wouldn’t be at all surprising.

Over 2.5 Goals: 3 Under 2.5 Goals: 5

Goals aren’t all that common in the previous meetings between the two sides, just one of the last four clashes has produced three of more goals. The last two meetings at Wigan have also finished in low scoring victories, one for either side, both by 1-0 scorelines.

Match Verdict: West Ham to WIN – 9/4 SkyBet

We really can’t see West Ham losing this game, especially if both sides replicate their early displays. West Ham have looked solid enough to make us think that they will give Wigan a run for their money whilst Wigan have let us all see their defensive issues and, with three defeats coming in relatively quick succession, confidence within the Wigan camp must be low. West Ham look terrific value at over 2/1 while Wigan look far too small!

Match Odds:

Wigan Athletic – 13/10 Boylesports

West Ham United – 9/4 SkyBet

Draw – 9/4 Bet365

SoccerBetting Tip: West Ham to Score 2+ Goals – 21/10 SkyBet