Wigan Athletic host Swansea City at the DW Stadium this weekend in what has been dubbed as a "massive game" by both Roberto Martinez and Brendan Rodgers in the build up to Saturday's tie.
Wigan Athletic host Swansea City at the DW Stadium this weekend in what has been dubbed as a "massive game" by both Roberto Martinez and Brendan Rodgers in the build up to Saturday's tie. The two teams find themselves in the lower half of the table and with two points separating 20th from 16th, three points would be vital, especially for the home side who are currently propping up the league table in 20th. Swansea on the other hand are a comfortable nine points from the danger zone but... However, despite Wigan's league position they are on their best run of form all season. Unbeaten in three games after picking up a point against both Aston Villa and Everton at home plus three points against Bolton at the Reebok, things are starting to look up for Martinez's side. Swansea come into the fixture in quite the opposite form. Their loss to Stoke last Sunday saw the Swans lose back-to-back Premier League fixtures for the first time this season and also further highlighted their woes away from home. Whilst Martinez's reign at Swansea ending three seasons ago, the Spaniard will know a fair number of the starting XI for Swansea very well. It was Martinez who instigated the moves for key players such as Ashley Williams, Nathan Dyer and Angel Rangel plus he has even played alongside pass master Leon Britton for three seasons in the mid-2000's. This insight will no doubt give Martinez some sort of advantage coming into the game in front of his home crowd however current boss Brendan Rodgers has successfully moulded the style, that Martinez put the groundwork into, to a new beast of his own. The last time these two met in the league it was Swansea's home Premier League debut and the legacy of Michel Vorm's penalty killing calibre was immediately called upon after saving Ben Watson's penalty in front of the Liberty faithful. The game ended in as a 0-0 game but a repeat of that scoreline looks very unlikely with both managers wanting to seize the opportunity of three points with both hands.
Team News
Wigan have a clean bill of health coming into the fixture plus no players serving suspension, so Roberto Martinez will have a full roster to choose from. However with Antolin Alcaraz, Maynor Figueora and Gary Caldwell all featuring in international action at midweek, it's unlikely that the three defenders will all start for the Latics. Swansea will welcome back Michel Vorm between the sticks as he should make a recovery from the illness that prevented him from participating in the 2-0 defeat against Stoke last Sunday. Andrea Orlandi is also nearing fitness and could be in contention for selection but Kemy Agustien has been potentially ruled out for the season with an ankle injury. Ferrie Bodde remains on the long term injury list for Swansea with his ongoing knee problem.
Line-ups from;
Wigan (from): Kirkland, Gohouri, Alcaraz, McCarthy, Caldwell, Thomas, Crusat, Watson, Di Santo, Maloney, Moses, Pollitt, Nicholls, Gomez, McManaman, McArthur, Boyce, Sammon, Jones, Rodallega, Diame, Beausejour, Stam, Lopez, Al-Habsi, FigueroaProbable line-up: Habsi, Figueora, Caldwell, Gohouri, Boyce, Beausejour, McArthur, McCarthy, Gomez, Moses, di Santo Swansea (from): Vorm, Williams, Taylor, Caulker, Tate, Britton, Orlandi, Graham, Sinclair, Dyer, Dobbie, Routledge, Monk, McEachran, Lita, Moore, Bessone, Moreira, Rangel, Situ, Allen, Tremmel, Gower, Obeng, Richards, Davies, Walsh, Thomas, Smith, Edwards, March, R Donnelly, Sigurdsson. Probable line-up: Vorm, Taylor, Caulker, Williams, Rangel, Allen, Britton, Sigurdsson, Dyer, Sinclair, Graham Italics indicate doubtful. Prediction: 1 - 2 - Swansea look good value to disturb Wigan's good run of form as of late but the game won't be a foregone conclusion.