English Premier
2011-12-17 - Wigan vs Chelsea
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: English Premier League
Saturday 17 December 2011 - Kick Off 5:30pm
This game is live on TV
Wigan
After a thumping 0-4 home loss to Arsenal a couple of weeks ago, Wigan fans might have felt the win over Sunderland was only a false dawn in their bid to stay in the Premier League. However, the Latics earned a huge 3 points last week against West Brom, points that are vital considering their next 3 games are against Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United.
Wigan's win moved them out of the relegation zone for 24 hours last Saturday, but they are now back to 18th in the Premier League table although only 2 points behind Wolves in the final position of safety. They are 1-2-4 at the DW Stadium, scoring 8 goals and conceding 15 meaning the only team to have conceded more home goals are bottom of the table Bolton Wanderers.
The team have actually picked up form recently and have earned 7 points from the last 12 available in the Premier League. This is a sharp upturn in their fortunes following a 9 game losing run in all competitions. Wigan have lost 4 of their last 5 home games, the exception being a 3-3 draw with Blackburn, and their last 3 defeats there have come by at least 2 goals.
Antolin Alcaraz returned to the team against West Brom last week, and he should be able to play this week. Roberto Martinez has no other injury worries to contend with.
Chelsea
After a difficult period at Stamford Bridge, the shoots of recovery began with a win at Newcastle United. They further flourished when beating Valencia to qualify for the last 16 of the Champions League and there are some real positive views after Chelsea beat Manchester City on Monday night. Andre Villa-Boas now needs his side to kick on in the hope of closing down the leaders in the League.
The win over City means Chelsea have moved up to 3rd in the Premier League, although they are level on points with 4th placed Tottenham Hotspur. That leaves the Blues only 7 points behind City at the top of the pile, a good feat considering all the problems Chelsea have had. They are 4-1-2 away from home this season, scoring 12 goals and conceding 6, giving them the 2nd best away defensive record so far.
Chelsea have now won 4 of their last 5 games in all competitions and they have only conceded 1 goal in those wins, although also suffering a 0-2 home loss to Liverpool in the Carling Cup. The Blues have won their last 2 away games in the Premier League since losing 1-0 at QPR.
There are no new injury worries for Villa-Boas coming into the game, although the question remains whether Frank Lampard will be restored to the starting line up after being a substitute in the last 2 games. David Luiz is another who missed out on Monday night and Chelsea could play the same line up that started the win over City.
Head to Head
Chelsea have won 6 of their last 7 games at Wigan, including a 0-6 win here last season.
A lot of the games here have been tight affairs, with Wigan pushing their more illustrious opponents- only 2 of Chelsea's 6 wins have come by more than 1 goal.
Prediction
Wigan put in a big effort in their last game to earn the 3 points, but there are still some real issues in the side as they don't seem to score enough goals, while the defence has trouble keeping teams out.
They have had a hard time when playing the bigger teams in the League ever since they moved up to the top flight and they could be in line for a tough time against a confident Chelsea side.
The Blues have begun to score the goals that the chances they have created have warranted and they will cause plenty of problems with the pace in the forward line. Goals have been a problem for the side in recent away games, but the 3 scored at Newcastle may represent a turning point for them.
With Wigan's defensive problems, and a lack of goals, I can see Chelsea winning on their 3rd game in 7 at the DW Stadium by more than 1 goal.
The Statistics :
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Pick :
Wigan 0-2 Chelsea
