English Premier
2013-05-19 - Wigan Athletic vs Aston Villa
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: English Premier League
Sunday 19 May 2013 - Kick Off 4pm
Wigan Athletic
They showed a lot of heart and tried their hardest, but Wigan Athletic's fate was essentially sealed last weekend when Newcastle United and Norwich City both won their Premier League games. While Wigan were winning the FA Cup at Wembley, a remarkable feat for the club, their Premier League survival looked destined to end in failure and it was confirmed with a 4-1 loss at Arsenal on Tuesday night.
The questions have turned to whether Wigan Athletic will be able to keep hold of some of their better players and their manager, while Dave Whelan is adamant the side can earn promotion at the first attempt next season. Their 4-5-9 record at the DW Stadium wasn't good enough, mainly down to the League high 37 goals they conceded at home.
Wigan opened the month with an impressive 2-3 win at West Brom, but back to back League defeats against Swansea and Arsenal ended their stay in the top flight. The defeat to Swansea is the only one Wigan have suffered in their last 4 Premier League games here, although they only won 2 of their last 12 home games in all competitions.
Callum McManaman has been ruled out with the injury suffered at the Emirates Stadium.
Aston Villa
Paul Lambert turned to youth when he came in as Aston Villa manager last summer and it hadn't looked a policy that would pay dividends as they were involved in a relegation fight. However, Lambert has been justified by the fact his side have really found their form in the final weeks of the season that secured their place in the top flight and also gave these players a lot of experience to take forward next season.
They are 16th in the Premier League table, but the incentive to finish higher is there for Aston Villa as that would improve their financial rewards. Paul Lambert is almost certainly going to want his team to finish the season with some momentum, although they are 5-5-8 away from home, scoring 22 goals and conceding 39, the most in away games in the Premier League.
Aston Villa have won 3 of their last 6 Premier League games, including back to back wins over Sunderland and Norwich City before being beaten by Chelsea last weekend. The side won 3 of their last 4 away games in the League to help push themselves to safety and the only exception was a 3-0 loss at Manchester United. Aston Villa won matches at Reading, Stoke City and Norwich City in that run.
Christian Benteke is suspended having been sent off last weekend and Aston Villa fans will be hoping the big man is still at Villa Park next season. Ciaran Clark is also absent, but Matthew Lowton could return to the squad.
Head to Head
Wigan Athletic secured a 0-3 win at Villa Park earlier this season.
However, Wigan have failed to win any of their last 6 home games against Aston Villa. In fact, Villa had won 4 in a row at the DW Stadium before the goalless draw here last season.
Prediction
Neither side has anything left to play for, but I do find it hard to imagine how Wigan Athletic can raise themselves for one more game now that relegation is complete.
While the home fans will inspire them, it has been a long season and Wigan have been desperate defensively for the most part. Aston Villa should find some success on the counter attack and they have been playing much better football of late compared with earlier in the season.
The odds just look plain wrong, even without Christian Benteke, and I don't think Villa should be as big as 3.75 to win this game.
The Statistics :
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The Pick :
Wigan Athletic 1-2 Aston Villa
