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."
www.sportinglife.com
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 |
|