Category Archives: Match Previews

Sunderland vs. Wigan: Time for a shake-up?

Posted by Ned in Match Previews, News and tagged with , , , ,

While Latics were missing three important players in the home loss to Fulham, the Capital One squad’s performance will surely weigh on Roberto’s mind as he selects his XI for the tricky trip to the Stadium of Light.

Mauro Boselli is now the club’s leading scorer with three and must be pushing for contention, particularly if Franco Di Santo fails to recover from the calf injury sustained against Manchester United. All three of his goals have been well-taken, but the chip for Latics’ third against West Ham was sublime. David Jones was another strong performer in London hoping to force his way into the starting XI after a rusty Ben Watson performance last weekend, though this too will depend on whether James McArthur is fit enough to reclaim his spot in midfield.

What is certain is that options abound. Young attackers Ryo Miyaichi and Callum McManaman have had an impact on the last two matches and have left Albert Crusat in the shadows. Emmerson Boyce has done nothing wrong, but surely Ronnie Stam will get a chance to impress in the league at some point. And will Roberto drop Ivan Ramis after his impressive mid-week goal, if Antolin Alcaraz is fit to return from injury?

The hope is that such healthy competition will translate into intensity and focus on the pitch. Sunderland away is always a tricky fixture, but particularly so on this occasion as they seek their first win of the season. They missed out narrowly at West Ham last weekend and were held at home to Liverpool the week before. Steven Fletcher has hit the ground running in his new stripes with four goals in three games and will be a threat, while James McLean and Stephane Sessegnon will provide the pace behind him. Seb Larsson’s free-kicks are always dangerous, and Adam Johnson is on the books these days. As their 0-0 draw away at Arsenal will attest, their defense is well-versed and midfield organized in the Martin O’Neill tradition.

 

Predicition:  Sunderland are a tough side, but with the exception of the second half at Old Trafford, our away form has been sensational. 1-1.

Related: if you haven’t already, please check out my interview on Salut! Sunderland, as part of their pre-match coverage.

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Wigan vs. Fulham: Battle of the strikers as Hugo returns

Posted by Ned in Match Previews, News, Other and tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Wigan’s record Premier League goalscorer Hugo Rodallega returns to the DW Stadium this weekend with his new club, but most eyes will be on his illustrious strike partner, Dimitar Berbatov.

The Bulgarian notched his first two goals in a Fulham shirt in the 3-0 win over West Brom, while Hugo hit the post from three yards out, something he specializes in. The Colombian has already amassed more shots per minute than any other striker in the league — it is no wonder Mauro Boselli didn’t get any service playing between Hugo and Charles N’Zogbia. But the reception should be warm for a player who worked his socks off in that lone striker role, scored some very important goals, and developed a warm relationship with the Latics support in his years with the club.

Interest should not be fully reserved for Fulham’s strikeforce, however, as Roberto came out with a public promise of playing opportunities for Boselli yesterday. Franco Di Santo has been excellent with two brilliant finishes in four matches, really beginning to fulfill his huge potential; Arouna Koné is still adapting but has pedigree and looks a little sharper with his touch as the days go by.

Assuming Antolin Alcaraz is not yet ready to return to action, Roberto should be able to field the same XI as he did at Old Trafford. But he has options if he is looking to mix things up. Home games like this where we would expect to control possession should theoretically be ideal for Boselli, with crosses flying in from both sides. Ryo Miyaichi looks fast and skillful and offers something closer to what Victor Moses did. There is cover in midfield, though it is hard to imagine any interference there.

Aside from Swansea, whose style of play was instilled by Roberto long before Brendan Rodgers or Michael Laudrup came along, Martin Jol’s Fulham have become one of the more pleasant teams to watch. They’ve lost the excellent Moussa Dembele, playmaker-in-chief Danny Murphy and Clint Dempsey. But if fit, Bryan Ruiz is a very exciting player behind the front two of Rodallega and Berbatov. New left winger Alexander Kacaniklic looks lively and has already contributed goals and assits, while Damien Duff has had an effective start to the season on the right. Steve Sidwell has been waiting for regular football for years and now has it. He will provide steel in midfield, though he can play a bit too. And the defense is well established, with Haangeland and Hughes, and Schwarzer behind them always difficult to beat. They were the one team we didn’t outplay in the fantastic run-in last season.

So a tricky but intriguing encounter on the cards. The good news is that both Clint Dempsey and Andy Johnson have moved on and therefore cannot score against us anymore — for Fulham, anyway. The bad is that Berbatov has a very decent record against us, while Hugo has scored a few at the DW as well. Lets hope this is a day for Latics’s stikers to rise up and keep them in the shadows.

Manchester United vs. Wigan: Will jet lag tell?

Posted by Ned in Match Previews, News, Other and tagged with , , , , , , , , , ,

One of the problems with a global recruitment policy as far flung as Wigan’s — Oman, Japan, and Honduras for a start — is that when international break comes round, half of the starting XI are likely to be jet lagged for the ensuing Premier League match.

Latics famously under-performed in the home loss to Swansea last season after players like Maynor Figueroa and Antolin Alcaraz had only landed in Manchester a day before the match. This year, ahead of the always daunting trip to Old Trafford, Roberto has again made the point that it is extremely difficult to prepare for a match without knowing who you have at your disposal.

Players like Antolin Alcaraz have played two matches in the past week, sandwiched by two day-long trips to the other side of the world, and will likely need — but not get — two full days to recover. Even if they survive the 90 minutes, proper rest and recuperation is never achieved.

Manchester United supporters might point to similar troubles, but replacing a tired Luis Antonio Valencia with Ashley Young or Nani is a bit different than, say, Adrian Lopez on for Antolin Alcaraz.

The Paraguayan (groin) is one of two major doubts for the Latics going into the fixture, with Jean Beausejour the second (hamstring). If Alcaraz misses out, we’ll expect to see the Ramis-Caldwell-Figueroa trio that figured against Stoke at the back. If Beausejour doesn’t make it, Maynor Figueroa will be pushed forward into the wingback position. If neither are available, the beneficiary will likely be David Jones at left wingback. The midfield should be the standard Scottish/Irish diamond, with Di Santo and Koné up front. The only variation in the attacking third I can imagine is the more conservative addition of Jordi Gomez at the expense of one of the strikers. Or — you never know — the introduction of the lightning-quick Ryo Miyaichi for added counter-attacking threat.

Manchester United, meanwhile, only have two international strikers to choose from after Robin van Persie picked up a knock  playing for his country. Wayne Rooney is still sidelined thanks to that unfortunate encounter with Hugo Rodallega’s boots. They’ll have to rely on Chicharito Hernandez and Danny Wellbeck, which will undoubtedly feel quite a hardship.

The clubs live in different realities. Watching Wigan outplay and topple Ferguson’s side on that special evening last April was one the greatest football spectator experiences I can remember. They played with belief, desire and no shortage of skill. One suspects that the ultimate significance of said result will not be lost on United’s players or fans — and they’ll be looking to put it behind them this Saturday at Old Trafford. But the gap on the pitch narrows each time these two teams play each other. If Latics can retain that belief and sin miedo attitude, a first result at Old Trafford is possible.

Wigan Athletic vs. Stoke City: Are we Stoke’s bogey team?

Posted by Ned in Match Previews, News, Other and tagged with , , ,

As I sat down to write this — amid transfer deadline madness — I was struck by a re-assuring thought. The pressure is completely off us going into this deadline. The planning for Victor Moses’ departure began a long time ago and his move could not have been more swiftly put behind us. Whilst not replacing like for like, we have three very able strikers and a host of talented attacking midfielders competing for three berths. While a new body or two are always welcome, they are certainly not necessary and I imagine they would add depth and cover, rather than an immediate first team challenge. As has become a theme when reporting on the progress this club has made under Roberto Martinez and Dave Whelan’s partnership, there is simply no comparison to this time last year, when Charles N’Zogbia’s departure and Shaun Maloney and Albert Crusat’s adjustment periods totally derailed the team’s start to the season.

Indeed, in the two matches immediately following Vic’s departure, we have scored six goals — each from a different player, and each more emphatic than the last. We’ve had long range strikes, one-on-ones, headers from crosses, left foot, right foot, from all three strikers, two attacking midfielders and our left back. Victor who?

This should not be read as a wildly optimistic view on our chances against Stoke this weekend, but rather for the season and indeed seasons to come. Stoke are always a tricky proposition, and stakes always seem to be high when we play them. That said, our record against them in the Premier League is good, with our only loss coming away in 2009. In the other seven encounters, we’ve drawn five times and beaten them twice, including that victory to stay up two seasons ago. Statistics are on our side, just.

But it’s not all optimism from me today. I think we’ve been something of a bogey team for Stoke — and we’ve been lucky against them. Be it Ben Watson’s late penalty to equalize after Gary Caldwell’s sending off at The Britannia last year, or managing to keep the ball out of Al-Habsi’s net in the first half of the survival match Rodallega ultimately won for us, I think we’ve been riding our luck a bit against them. Logic says that luck will eventually turn, so I reserve a little concern for tomorrow’s clash.

This all said, we are showing the sort of form that doesn’t rely on luck. The cup win against Nottingham Forest carried on where the excellent away win at Southampton left off, underlining the strength in depth Roberto has at his disposal. There are few superstars in the lineup, but there is strong cover for every position, except goalkeeper.

Which means Antolin Alcaraz’s suspension, the lone negative from Tuesday’s cup tie, will be a much lesser problem than it would have been four months ago. We can expect a back three of Figueroa, Caldwell and Ramis (who by the end of the match will have played in all three centre-back positions in his first four matches for the club) — and the inclusion of now-fit Jean Beausejour at left wingback. Emmerson Boyce will likely return at right wingback despite Ronnie Stam’s strong performance mid-week. The Jimmy Macs will almost certainly reclaim the midfield with Maloney ahead of them. The big question is who will start in the attacking berths. Jordi Gomez’s performances this season have been of a high standard and he might be in with outside chance if Roberto feels conservative with his lineup. More likely is a repeat of the Southampton strikeforce, with Koné and Di Santo up front. But Mauro Boselli’s goal and performance had the manager raving, and it’s not outside the realm of possibility that he could be given the nod. If you haven’t already, check out our interview with the Argentine here.

Meanwhile, Stoke were booed off at half-time in the home cup loss to Swindon — who incidentally also knocked Latics out of the FA Cup last season. In the league, they drew away to newly promoted Reading and at home to Arsena, both respectable results, and have just signed Charlie Adam from Liverpool for 4 million pounds. Presumably he will take the set pieces they are always dangerous on, but we are unlikely to see much of the playmaking he showed at Blackpool in a team that likes to bypass that part of the pitch. Fellow new signing Michael Kightly has looked impressive for them and will be a threat.

An interesting one as always. With a trip to Old Trafford coming soon, a positive result in this one with be vital to keep the good feeling we’re enjoying at the moment.

Prediction: 2-1 Latics.

Nottingham Forest vs. Wigan Athletic: Match Preview

Posted by JJ (Tony) in Match Previews, News, Other and tagged with , , , ,

After witnessing champagne moments in Latics’ victory at Southampton on Saturday, up comes another match. It is the Capital One Cup, the latest name for the Football League Cup. Will it be champagne or mere morsels this time around? One recalls the heroics of the 2005-2006 Latics side, knocking out Arsenal in the semi-final, only to be undone by Manchester United in Cardiff. It was not so much champagne football with that Latics side in their first Premier League season, but it was exuberant and exciting.

I liked the name of the “Milk Cup”, that the tournament had in the 80’s when sponsored by Dairy Crest. The League Cup is still with us, despite the sparse attendances it has suffered since its introduction in 1960. In those days the FA Cup was a big thing, drawing in the crowds. Maybe they thought the League Cup could get on that same bandwagon? The reality has been that most Premier League clubs have repeatedly put out weakened teams in this competition, so “giant killing” has been prevalent, at least on outward appearance.

I really enjoyed the Southampton match. Two well taken goals, but more than that it was an oozing of sheer class by Latics that sticks in my mind. There was a spell in the second half where Latics just wouldn’t let Southampton get the ball. The passing ability of Latics’ defenders defies belief compared the norms of previous eras. Robert Martinez has got his team playing stylish, skillful football whilst maintaining a steely, competitive edge. How ironic that Brendan Rodgers has been lauded for the good football his Swansea team played last season. No disrespect to Rodgers, who did a great job taking Swansea into the Premier League and having a good first season. However, it is the Martinez stamp that reigns indelible on the Swansea style of play.

When I trawled the Latics news on the internet a few minutes ago I found headlines such as “Martinez set to rotate squad” and “ Martinez set to test squad depth”. Hardly a surprise. In the old days it would be said that he is putting out his reserve team. I suppose the difference now is that those fringe first team squad players rarely play for the reserves .

So it is an opportunity for squad players who have not started so far this season. If so a possible line-up could be: Pollitt – Lopez, Golobart, Kiernan – Stam, Watson, Fyvie (or Jones), Beausejour (or Jones) – Crusat, Boselli, Miyaichi (or McManaman). Not to forget Mustoe and Redmond plus players from the development squad. On paper this looks like a strong enough lineup, but in reality it would be a team that has never played together. On the more positive side Latics have a way of playing that these players can fit into. Martinez continues to view these matches as opportunities for players to show their mettle and their willingness to challenge for a place in the starting lineup. In reality we have seen some abject performances in the cup competitions over the last few years.

Nottingham Forest finished 19th in the Championship last year. They have won one and drawn two of their matches  this season. Like Wigan, they also need to look at upcoming fixtures. One cannot predict what type of lineup they will put out. How things have changed over recent years. Forest were twice European champions under Brian Clough  when Latics were still newcomers in the fourth tier of the Football League.

It would be nice to have another great run in the League Cup. However, performance in cup competitions under Roberto Martinez has been mediocre – it has clearly not been a priority. However, one hopes that those players who make the lineup tonight will play with the passion, skill and professionalism that the first choice lineup showed at Southampton at the weekend.