English Premier
2013-02-02 - Wigan vs Southampton
A Sports Betting Pick by Addicted
Football : England : Premier League
Saturday, 2nd February, 2013, 3:00PM GMT
PREVIEW
The Saints deserve props for the way they have played recently, especially away from home. Southampton held Chelsea 2-2 at the Bridge after winning 1-0 at Aston Villa, and in their most recent game took the lead yet again against Manchester United but lost narrowly 2-1. Don't be fooled though, they were the better team, with close to 60% possession and firing in 21 shots on target, close to double the chances United created!
Southampton may have the 2nd worst defence in the league, but it has a lot to do with early season troubles, when they were in the bottom 3 and were allowing a bunch of goals, negating the good work they did up front themselves. They even lost 2-0 at home to Wigan, but this is a much improved team that battles hard away and is good value for a punt. The loss at Old Trafford was their first loss in 7 games.
Think about it, Southampton have this month taken points off Arsenal, Chelsea and Everton, all top 6 sides in the league. They were in winning positions in both games against United. Lambert is a solid threat and is likely to get a goal here against a defence that is allowing an average of 2 goal per home game. Wigan are only scoring just over a goal per game at home, so unfortunately the DW is not a safe place for them. They have just 2 wins from 12 home games, losing 7!
Wigan have in fact lost 3 straight home games, and have not won in their last 5 here. When the pressure is off away from home they get points but they come back here and fail to do so. Southampton match up very well because of this, because they seem to be clicking when on the road. Their offence will get more than enough chances to score a few against Wigan, who have not kept a clean sheet in their last 13 home games.
BETTING VERDICT
Wigan might just be a bit wiped after their game at Stoke, where they had to come back from 2-0 down. You might think they are buoyed by the result but I think they start flat here and get hit by a goal early, from which they fail to recover.
Don't go big with bets, but I think the value is with Southampton either on the AH with a start or outright for the win which will take them 6 points clear of their hosts.
The Statistics :
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The Pick :
Wigan 1-2 Southampton
