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      MATCH PREVIEW

WIGAN ATHLETIC v WEST BROMWICH ALBION
Barclays Premier League
Saturday 10th November 2012, 3pm
DW Stadium

MATCH NOTES

This is the ninth Premier League match between the two sides and Wigan have won all the odd numbered ones (first, third, fifth and seventh) so far.

Albion are looking to register their first Premier League away win of the season and have won only one of their last 10 away league games (1-0 at Liverpool in April).

TEAM NEWS

Albion

Goalkeeper Boaz Myhill is on standby to replace Ben Foster who is suffering from a groin problem.

Midfielder James Morrison should be available to return after missing Monday night's win over Southampton but Jerome Thomas and Steven Reid will not be considered for selection despite both returning to training.

Craig Dawson is out due to an eye injury.

Squad from: Foster, Myhill, Daniels, Jones, McAuley, Olsson, Tamas, Dawson, Jara Reyes, Popov, Ridgewell, Mulumbu, Yacob, Brunt Dorrans, Morrison, El Ghanassy, Gera, Fortune, Odemwingie, Lukaku, Long, Rosenberg.

Wigan Athletic

Latics' boss Roberto Martinez will again be without wingers Ryo Miyaichi (groin) and Albert Crusat (knee) whilst midfielder James McArthur is rated as only 50-50 to due to a dead leg.

Squad from: Al Habsi, Pollitt, Caldwell, Ramis, Figueroa, Beausejour, Boyce, McCarthy, McArthur, Maloney, Kone, Boselli, Gomez, Watson, Jones, McManaman, Fyvie, Lopez, Mustoe, Golobart, Stam, Di Santo, Orsula.

QUOTES

Baggies' boss Steve Clarke:

"In the last few games Wigan have got back to where they were towards the end of last season when they were the best team in the league.

"Is Martinez is a pioneer? I think there has been a general shift in the way the coaches are trying to get their teams to play. Maybe in the Premier League, Roberto was one of those who set his team up to play slightly different, to try and get your team to play football no matter what the pressure. If you want to have him down as pioneer, you probably could.

"We will go there expecting a difficult game but I'm sure Wigan are expecting a difficult game as well."

Wigan manager Roberto Martinez:

"Steve Clarke has brought a new approach and been really successful. I think he knows the British game really well and has developed his own method out of his experiences with some of the best managers in the world - Mourinho, Kenny Dalglish, his experience at Newcastle. But what he's bringing into the game is not what he's getting from someone else but something he has developed himself. Steve Clarke has very strong values about the game in Britain and has developed very good man-management skills, always calm, always relaxed, always thoughtful.

"West Brom are now the in-form team in the Premier League in my eyes, they are fifth in the table and they have dropped a few points with conceding a 91st-minute goal against Man City and against Villa, both games where they deserved more than that. They are very well-balanced, and have kept the same group of players together for a long time."

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MATCH ODDS

Result

Albion Win: 11/5, Wigan Athletic Win: 5/4, Draw: 23/10.

First Goalscorer

Kone 11/2, Long 6/1, Boselli 7/1, Di Santo 7/1, Lukaku 7/1, Odemwingie 7/1, Maloney 9/1, Fortune 9/1, Rosenberg 9/1, McManaman 10/1, Gomez 11/1, Dorrans 12/1, Morrison 12/1,  Brunt 14/1, Gera 14/1, Watson 16/1, El Ghanassy 16/1, Beausejour 18/1.

REFEREE

Neil Swarbrick (Lancashire) - Refereed two Albion games last season both of which ended in victories for the Baggies - The 2-1 win at home to Bolton Wanderers in November and the 1-0 win against Liverpool at Anfield in April.

TICKET INFORMATION

Around 1,000 tickets will be available to Albion fans on the cash-only North Stand P1 turnstile at the DW Stadium on Saturday.

WEATHER FORECAST

Cloudy with 40% chance of rain, 8°C.

FIXTURE HISTORY

Albion first met  Wigan Athletic in March 1983 in a testimonial game for goalkeeper Bob Ward. Albion ran out 2-1 winners thanks to goals from Romeo Zondervan and Noel Luke.

The first competitive meeting of the two sides came in September 1984 in the Milk Cup. A goalless draw at Wigan was followed by a 3-1 victory for Albion at The Hawthorns, Steve Hunt, Garry Thompson and Nicky Cross the Albion scorers.

Albion's first league encounters with the 'Latics' took place during the 1991/92 Division Three season. The first game, at The Hawthorns in August, ended 1-1, whilst the return game at Springfield Park saw Albion claim three points with a 1-0 victory, Craig Shakespeare netting from the spot.

Wigan's first victory against Albion came in October 1992 when they ran out 1-0 winners at Springfield Park thanks to a Chris Makin goal. The Baggies gained revenge for the defeat by recording their highest score against the Lancashire side in the return game at The Hawthorns six months later. Bob Taylor (2), Micky Mellon, Paul Raven and Kevin Donovan scoring the goals in a 5-1 victory.

The next meeting of the two clubs came during the Isle of Man tournament in July 1996, Albion running out 1-0 winners thanks to a Paul Groves goal. A year later Albion travelled to Wigan for a pre-season friendly and came home on the end of a 2-0 defeat.

In October 2002 Premiership Albion travelled to the JJB Stadium for a Worthington Cup tie with the then Second Division Wigan. The home side ran out 3-1 winners thanks to a hat-trick from future Baggie Nathan Ellington.

League meetings between the two sides recommenced during Albion’s 2003/04 promotion winning season. Albion lost 1-0 at the JJB Stadium in September with Geoff Horsfield scoring but won the return game at The Hawthorns in March 2-1, Lee Hughes and Thomas Gaardsoe on the scoresheet.

Since 2005 the clubs have met regularly in the Premier League with Wigan having slightly the better results, so far winning four times to Albion’s two.


LAST LEAGUE MEETING AT THE DW STADIUM

Wigan Athletic 1-1 Albion
Barclays Premier League
Saturday 17 March 2012, 3:00pm

Wigan Athletic: Al Habsi, Alcaraz, Caldwell, Figueroa (Crusat 89), Boyce, McCarthy (McManaman 80), McArthur, Beausejour, Moses, Di Santo, Maloney (Diame 80). Subs not used: Kirkland, Ben Watson, Gomez, Stam.

Goalscorer: McArthur 54.

Booked: Boyce 70 (unsporting behaviour), McManaman 84 (foul).

Albion: Foster, Jones, McAuley, Ridgewell, Shorey, Thomas (Dorrans 86), Morrison, Mulumbu (Andrews 80), Scharner, Brunt, Long. Subs not used: Daniels, Dawson, Tamas, Cox, Fortune.

Goalscorer: Scharner 65

Booked: Scharner 60 (foul), Brunt 62 (foul), Mulumbu 68 (unsporting behaviour), Thomas 70 (unsporting behaviour).

Attendance: 21,379

Referee: Michael Oliver (Northumberland)

Wigan old boy Paul Scharner put another dent in the Latics' Barclays Premier League survival hopes with a 65th-minute equaliser to earn West Brom a point at the DW Stadium.

Wigan, who have managed just 25 goals in 29 games, dominated the first half but were out of luck in front of goal, with Emmerson Boyce and James McCarthy both hitting the bar among many fine chances. They finally found the back of the net nine minutes after the break through James McArthur, but Scharner headed in a corner to level matters and a late flurry from the hosts came to nothing.

Franco Di Santo, in for the injured Hugo Rodallega, was the key figure as the Latics flew out of blocks, firing in three shots in quick succession inside the opening five minutes, the last of which forced Ben Foster to tip over the bar. Not making the most of good spells in games has been the story of Wigan's season and from the resulting corner Gary Caldwell skewed a shot well wide from a great position, while a brilliant cross from Maynor Figueroa was met by a header from Boyce at the far post in the 16th minute that bounced off the top of the bar. West Brom were offering little in attack, with Jerome Thomas' wayward shot their only real effort of the first half aside from a couple of Gareth McAuley headers from free-kicks. The Baggies seemed to have weathered the storm as the game entered a scrappy phase, but Wigan came storming back at the end of the first half and really should have taken the lead. McAuley did well to block a Di Santo header six minutes before the break and from the resulting corner the ball fell to McCarthy on the edge of the box, who fired in a thunderous shot that smashed against the bar. When the ball finally came down the keeper reacted well to deny Victor Moses a tap-in, then moments later Jean Beausejour picked out Antolin Alcaraz in space at the far post, but he chose to try to find Shaun Maloney, making his first Premier League start for four years, who could not keep his balance with the goal gaping.

Wigan continued to probe at the start of the second half and in the 54th minute they finally got the goal they deserved as McArthur poked in his third of the season. It was created by Moses, who showed good persistence on the right of the area after his initial cross had been blocked to beat Shorey and fire in a cross that Billy Jones could only direct to McArthur. West Brom were almost level straight away as Thomas broke clear but Boyce did just enough to put him off and ensure he could not get his shot away. Wigan probably should have had a second on the hour mark, Beausejour again showing his crossing prowess to pick out Alcaraz but the defender somehow failed to make any contact with the ball three yards out. And the hosts were made to pay five minutes later when Brunt's corner was headed in at the back post by Scharner, who had been left unmarked. Wigan fans were baying for a red card moments later when Youssouf Mulumbu reacted with fury to a challenge from McArthur and pushed him in the back, but referee Michael Oliver felt a yellow would suffice, with Boyce and Thomas also picking up bookings after becoming involved in the kerfuffle that followed. Wigan knew what a great chance this was to claim that elusive home win and they continued to press forward. Boyce had a clear sight of goal when he got the wrong side of Thomas but the winger did just enough to put him off and ensure his shot at Foster was weak. Di Santo then saw another effort pushed away by Foster, although it looked to be going wide anyway, while substitute Keith Andrews was straight into the action with a shot just wide. Wigan flooded forward in the final moments and came desperately close, first substitute Mohamed Diame miscuing a shot and hitting Di Santo when he should have scored and then Foster keeping out Albert Crusat's cross at the near post after it had been deflected by McAuley.

The point at least drew Wigan level with Wolves and QPR but they remain bottom of the table having played a game more than their rivals.

Sporting Life

CURRENT CONNECTIONS

Latics' midfielder Ben Watson spent just over a month on loan at The Hawthorns from Wigan during the 2009/10 season, playing seven games and scoring one goal.

PAST CONNECTIONS

Amongst the players to have turned out at various levels for both clubs are: Lee Ashcroft, Paul Beesley, Ian Benjamin, Nathan Ellington, Sid Glidden, Mark Grew, Geoff Horsfield, Tony Kelly, Kevin Kilbane, Chris Kirkland, Jason Koumas, Andy Marriott, Darren Patterson, Jason Roberts, Paul Scharner, Bob Ward, Monty Wilson and Winston White.

John Deehan and Kenny Swain both played for Albion and later managed Wigan.

ALL-TIME LEAGUE & CUP RECORD VS WIGAN ATHLETIC

 VENUE P W D  L F A
 Home 8 4 2 2 18 11
 Away 9 2 2 5 5 9
 Total 17 6 4 7 23 20

LAST TEN MATCHES AGAINST WIGAN ATHLETIC

 DATE COMPETITION H/A F-A GOALSCORERS  GATE
 Sat 17 Mar 2012 Premier League A 1-1 Scharner - McArthur  21,379
 Sat 10 Dec 2011 Premier League H 1-2 Reid - Moses, Gomez (pen)  25,446
 Tue 01 Feb 2011 Premier League H 2-2 Odemwingie, Fortuné - N'Zogbia, Watson  25,358
 Sat 13 Nov 2010 Premier League A 0-1 Moses  16,085
 Sat 09 May 2009 Premier League H 3-1 Fortuné 2, Brunt - Rodallega  24,741
 Sat 29 Nov 2008 Premier League A 1-2 Miller - Camara, Boyce  17,054
 Sun 15 Jan 2006 Premier League A 1-0 Albrechtsen  17,421
 Sat 10 Sep 2005 Premier League H 1-2 Greening - Connolly, Bullard  25,617
 Tue 16 Mar 2004 League Division 1 H 2-1 Hughes (pen), Gaardsoe - Liddell (pen)  26,215
 Tue 16 Sep 2003 League Division 1 A 0-1 Horsfield  12,874

 

 
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