Wigan Athletic v Chelsea – Preview: Will The Blues Build On The New Found Momentum?

By Guest Author
13 years Ago

WIGAN ATHLETIC

v

CHELSEA

DW Stadium, Greater Manchester

December 17, 2011; 17:30 GMT

***

Chelsea, who are in an upbeat mood after a home victory over the league leaders Man. City will travel to DW stadium on saturday to take on Wigan Athletic who are currently 18th on the table. Wigan have been able to record just one victory in their last the 12 League meetings with Chelsea.

Chelsea would have some memories of being beaten by 3 – 1 at the DW stadium which ended their winning streak in the 2009/10 season.

Wigan haven’t been able to make most of the Home advantage count this season. Roberto Martinez’s side have taken just one point from the last 15 available at home. The two away victories in their last 3 games at Stadium of Light and Hawthrones have given some breathing space to the manager who had seen the alarm bells being raised after a series of poor results at home. The Latics face Chelsea , Liverpool and Man United in their next 3 fixtures leading to new year, a tough ask for any side in Premier League.

Chelsea on the other hand are coming into this game with 3 consecutive victories against Newcastle, Valencia and the table toppers Manchester City. Villas Boas’ men who had a forgettable November seem to have finally struck a balance in their game play by addressing their defensive issues. With a crucial fixture against Spurs to come next week, a strong performance and a victory here could help them put some additional pressure on the North Londoners for the table positions.

Team news & Tactical brief

Wigan Athletic

After a stunning display against West Brom, all eyes will be on the 20yr old forward Victor Moses. Wigan fans would relish a repeat of that performance against Chelsea. Al Habsi who had a decent game against West Brom is likely to have a busy day with the gloves.

Alcaraz is expected to continue at Center Back position with the skipper Caldwell. Wigan have failed to keep a clean sheet in their last 12 Premier League games, a stat which does not give good signals going into this game. David Jones is expected to continue in the anchorman role, with Mccarthy and Diame either side of him. Moses and Jordi Gomez will continue to ask questions in the opposition half . The former Chelsea man Franco Di Santo is currently the top scorer for Wigan and would want to prove a point or two to his ex-employers.

Wigan are expected to play 4-3-2-1 formation with Di Santo leading the attack with Moses posing threat from advanced and wide positions. The advancing fullbacks Figeuroa and Stam can be cause a problem or two at the back for Chelsea.

Patrick Van Aanholt who is on loan from Blues is ineligible to play.

Probable starting Lineup:Ai??Al Habsi, Alcaraz, Caldwell, Stam, Figueroa, Jones, McCarthy, Diame, Gomez, Moses, Di Santo

Chelsea

David Luiz who missed out against Manchester City due to suspension should return to partner John Terry at the centre of defense. Ivanovic is expected to resume his services Right Back position. It will be interesting to see if Villas Boas decides to give a start to Fernando Torres, who has not started a league game since the home loss against Arsenal.

Mata , Ramires and Sturridge should continue to hold on to their respective places after excellent displays this season. Jon Obi Mikel faces a tough competition for a start from the youngster Oriol Romeu who has impressed the Chelsa faithful with solid performance sitting ahead of the defense line. Frank Lampard is likely to get a start in this game after his confident performance against Manchester City. Meireles is expected to make ways for Lampard.

The 4-3-3 formation with a slightly deeper back-line which has yielded recent success is expected to be continued. Mata and Sturridge will continue to be the enforcers of Chelsea’s attack with support from Lampard and Ramires who are capable making those runs into the opposition box. The full backs are expected to assist the attack from the wings.

Raul Meireles , Florent Malouda and Salomon Kalou could get some game time depending on match situations.Ai??Josh Mceachran and Michael Essien are expected to miss the game due to injury.

Probable starting Lineup:Ai??Cech, Ivanovic, Terry, Luiz, Cole, Romeu, Lampard, Ramires, Mata, Sturridge, Torres

Key Facts

Wigan have won just one and lost 10 of the 12 Premier League meetings with Chelsea.
Chelsea had been on a run of one clean sheet in just 10 away games, before keeping shut outs in their last two road trips.
No side have conceded a higher proportion of goals in the opening 15 minutes of Premier League games this season than Chelsea (22%).

Stats courtesy Yahoo! and Opta.

TheHardTackle’s PLAYER TO WATCH OUT FOR

The young Englishman is on fire!

Daniel Sturridge (Chelsea)

Sturridge has seen his fortunes swing after a brief loan spell at Reebok. This season, he has been instrumental with pace, vision and menacing runs into the opposition box. Though a few questions have been asked over his finishing, the young striker has shown positive signs in the recent games with some exhilarating display of football. He is our player to watch for.

TheHardTackle’s PREDICTION

Wigan 1 – 3 Chelsea

Chelsea with a whopping head-to-head stat in their favor, start as clear favorites to win this game. The recent confident displays should help them have a good day at office. Wigan on the other hand, will be aware of minute defensive frailties Blues have exposed in their last few games and will try to maximize their chances by pressurizing the Chelsea defense.

West Londoners are likely to create a lot of opportunities and win this game comfortably, but any complacency might go on to hurt them.

TheHardTackle’s BLAST FROM THE PAST

Article written by Guest Author Girish Baliga

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Categories: Chelsea FC, COVER STORY, English Premier League
Tags: Andres Villas Boas Chelsea FC Daniel Sturridge