Wigan Athletic Preview
Posted on: Fri 12 Mar 2010
Bolton Wanderers v Wigan Athletic,
Barclays Premier League,
Saturday 13 March,
Reebok Stadium, 3pm Kick-Off.
Live commentary from the Reebok is available from 2.30pm on Wanderers Player. Click here now to subscribe and take advantage of the free 14-day trial.
The fixtures continue to come thick and fast for Wanderers and next up is the challenge of Wigan Athletic on Saturday afternoon.
For only the second time in seven matches Bolton are back on home soil, where they will look to put the record straight following the 4-0 defeat against Sunderland by securing the bragging rights over their neighbours from 11 miles down the road.
When the two sides met only three-and-a-half weeks ago in a stalemate at the DW Stadium both teams came away with a hard earned point, however a win for Wanderers on Saturday afternoon will put a bit of daylight between the two clubs.
The Latics currently reside one place and one point below Bolton, albeit that they have played one game less.
Roberto Martinez predicts a tight clash and has admitted that his side need to anticipate a response from the Trotters following the defeat on Wearside.
Speaking to Wigan's official website, he said: "I watched their recent game against Sunderland and for an hour I thought Bolton were the better side. After a great win at West Ham they are now on the back of a disappointing defeat and it goes to show how results don't often reflect performances.
"At home they'll want to bounce back and we'll have to be ready for that, it's going to be a tense derby where concentration will be huge and the little details are going to determine the outcome."
The Wigan boss has a near full strength squad to select from. Mario Melchiot is doubtful so Emerson Boyce is set to continue at right-back. If Martinez names the same side that defeated Liverpool on Monday evening then Hugo Rodallega and Marcelo Moreno will spearhead their attack.
Tamir Cohen is back available for Wanderers after serving his one-match ban, but Sam Ricketts definitely misses out through suspension following his sending-off at the Stadium of Light.
It remains to be seen whether Fabrice Muamba and Jack Wilshere will shrug off their knocks, but speaking at his pre-match press conference on Thursday, Owen Coyle explained that he expects them to be fit.
The referee for the match is Mike Dean. In 31 outings in all competitions this season, he has flashed 112 yellow cards and six yellows. His only previous trip to the Reebok this season was for the Blackburn Rovers fixture back in November.
A Bolton-Wigan game had never been a top-flight fixture up until the Latics promotion to the Premier League in 2005. In total there have been 30 meetings between the two clubs with Wigan winning 13 of those and Wanderers ten, while there has also been seven draws.
Out of those ten Bolton victories, one that particularly sticks in the mind of Wanderers supporters was when their team recorded a fantastic 2-0 success at Springfield Park in 1993 thanks to goals from Tony Kelly and Andy Walker.
However, Bolton had to wait 14 years before they recorded another win against the Latics, when Andranik Teymourian and Nicolas Anelka got the goals to secure a 3-1 win at the DW Stadium to end the run.
Barclays Premier League,
Saturday 13 March,
Reebok Stadium, 3pm Kick-Off.
Live commentary from the Reebok is available from 2.30pm on Wanderers Player. Click here now to subscribe and take advantage of the free 14-day trial.
The fixtures continue to come thick and fast for Wanderers and next up is the challenge of Wigan Athletic on Saturday afternoon.
For only the second time in seven matches Bolton are back on home soil, where they will look to put the record straight following the 4-0 defeat against Sunderland by securing the bragging rights over their neighbours from 11 miles down the road.
When the two sides met only three-and-a-half weeks ago in a stalemate at the DW Stadium both teams came away with a hard earned point, however a win for Wanderers on Saturday afternoon will put a bit of daylight between the two clubs.
The Latics currently reside one place and one point below Bolton, albeit that they have played one game less.
Roberto Martinez predicts a tight clash and has admitted that his side need to anticipate a response from the Trotters following the defeat on Wearside.
Speaking to Wigan's official website, he said: "I watched their recent game against Sunderland and for an hour I thought Bolton were the better side. After a great win at West Ham they are now on the back of a disappointing defeat and it goes to show how results don't often reflect performances.
"At home they'll want to bounce back and we'll have to be ready for that, it's going to be a tense derby where concentration will be huge and the little details are going to determine the outcome."
The Wigan boss has a near full strength squad to select from. Mario Melchiot is doubtful so Emerson Boyce is set to continue at right-back. If Martinez names the same side that defeated Liverpool on Monday evening then Hugo Rodallega and Marcelo Moreno will spearhead their attack.
Tamir Cohen is back available for Wanderers after serving his one-match ban, but Sam Ricketts definitely misses out through suspension following his sending-off at the Stadium of Light.
It remains to be seen whether Fabrice Muamba and Jack Wilshere will shrug off their knocks, but speaking at his pre-match press conference on Thursday, Owen Coyle explained that he expects them to be fit.
The referee for the match is Mike Dean. In 31 outings in all competitions this season, he has flashed 112 yellow cards and six yellows. His only previous trip to the Reebok this season was for the Blackburn Rovers fixture back in November.
A Bolton-Wigan game had never been a top-flight fixture up until the Latics promotion to the Premier League in 2005. In total there have been 30 meetings between the two clubs with Wigan winning 13 of those and Wanderers ten, while there has also been seven draws.
Out of those ten Bolton victories, one that particularly sticks in the mind of Wanderers supporters was when their team recorded a fantastic 2-0 success at Springfield Park in 1993 thanks to goals from Tony Kelly and Andy Walker.
However, Bolton had to wait 14 years before they recorded another win against the Latics, when Andranik Teymourian and Nicolas Anelka got the goals to secure a 3-1 win at the DW Stadium to end the run.
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