WEST BROMWICH ALBION v WIGAN ATHLETIC
Barclays Premier League
Saturday 4th May 2012, 3pm
The Hawthorns

MATCH NOTES

This is the tenth Premier League match between the two sides with Wigan having the edge so far with four wins compared to Albion's three.

The Baggies have won just one of the four Premier League meetings that have taken place at The Hawthorns.

On-loan striker Romelu Lukaku needs one goal to equal Peter Odemwingie's Albion club record of 15 Premier League goals in a season.

Albion's last game on May 4 came in 2008 when they beat Queens Park Rangers 2-0 at Loftus Road and in the process clinched the Championship title.

Wigan's last game on this date came in 1996 when they suffered a 2-1 defeat at home to Northampton Town in League Division 3.

Albion's last six games: Southampton (A) 3-0; Newcastle United (H) 1-1; Arsenal (H) 1-2; West Ham United (A) 1-3; Stoke City (A) 0-0; Swansea City (H) 2-1.

Wigan's last six games: Tottenham Hotspur (H) 2-2; West Ham United (A) 0-2; Manchester City (A) 0-1; Millwall (FAC SF at Wembley) 2-0; QPR (A) 1-1; Norwich City (H) 1-0.

TEAM NEWS

Albion

Albion will be without midfielder Chris Brunt (knee) and defender Goran Popov (calf) for the visit of Wigan. Baggies’ boss Steve Clarke will also have Marc-Antoine Fortune missing as the striker starts a three match suspension following his sending-off at Southampton last weekend. 

Clarke is boosted though by the return of Youssouf Mulumbu with the midfielder having completed his own three game ban.

Zoltan Gera and George Thorne remain sidelined with long-term injuries.

Squad from: Foster, Myhill, Jones, Reid, Ridgewell, McAuley, Olsson, Dawson. Thomas, Lukaku, Morrison, Dorrans, Rosenberg, Yacob, Long, Odemwingie, Tamas, Mulumbu.

Wigan Athletic

Wigan will be without Maynor Figueroa after the player was ruled out for the rest of the season with a groin injury.

Paraguay defender Antolin Alcaraz is unlikely to figure despite returning to training following his hamstring injury.

Squad from: Robles, Al Habsi, Boyce, Stam, Scharner, Golobart, Caldwell, Beausejour, Gomez, McCarthy, Espinoza, McArthur, Maloney, McManaman, Kone, Di Santo, Henriquez, Fyvie.

QUOTES

Baggies' boss Steve Clarke:

“There are still two or three teams below us that can catch us so we can’t afford to switch off. We have to cement eighth position and we’ll probably need a further three or four points to do that. That’s the next focus.

“Southampton might have thought it would be an easy game for them last week. It was a mid-table clash with nothing on it and we certainly went down there and showed them it mattered to us and we wanted the points. When Arsenal came here a few weeks ago we gave them a game and they were chasing a Champions League spot and seemingly had everything to play for - it was a game we should have got something out of. It will be no different on Saturday. We have our own ambitions and targets. We want to finish the season well, we like to play well in front of our own supporters and we like to give them something to shout about - and that’s what we’ll try and do at the weekend.

“The final will take care of itself. Before that they have league matches they have to address. They have us on Saturday, which I can assure you will be a difficult one for them. We’ve been good at home this year and we’ll look forward to another good home performance.

“But Wigan are a team that are - this might not be the right choice of word - ‘comfortable’ to be down there fighting because over the years they have always been down towards the lower reaches of the league. They know what they have to do to get out of it. I think Roberto [Martinez] as a manager doesn’t panic. He knows there are still points to be had and they are a team that are comfortable and can still produce good football even though they seem to be struggling in their league position. They still have a chance to stay up because if they get the points they need they can stay in the league.

“All I’ve got to do is concentrate and make sure my team is right for the weekend, we put on the performance we want to give our supporters and hopefully get another win for us. I don’t think they’ll get an easy game here - there are not too many teams who have come to The Hawthorns and had an easy game this season. Hopefully we can continue that at the weekend.”

www.wba.co.uk

Wigan manager Roberto Martinez:

“It’s an easy situation to approach because we’re desperate to play games at the moment, going into this final fight with good form behind us. Other teams around us have a greater amount of points which is their strength, but I would argue that our form is better in terms of the performances we’ve produced recently. Clearly against Spurs we did everything we had to in order to get three points, but were denied that by a freak moment near the end of the game. So as you can imagine, the players are desperate to play again and maintain their level of performance which was magnificent from start to finish.

“Another element of that game that really impressed me was the level of support we had from the fans. The atmosphere and environment we created at the DW Stadium was incredible, and when you see that you know you’re in for a strong finish to the season. I believe we have around 1,000 supporters making the trip to The Hawthorns this weekend which shows that it is ‘Wigan Time’ and that everyone at the club is ready to do their bit in ensuring the players are able to perform at their best.

“Fans will have seen results elsewhere over the last week, but my message to them would be to remember that this is still in our own hands and to be proud of our club. We need points, that is very clear but we also need to focus on ourselves and our games. If we do that then we’ll proud of each other in what we can achieve. Looking at results elsewhere only distracts you from what we’re doing, and for what it’s worth I think the Aston Villa - Sunderland results helps our situation in making sure it’s not just one other team involved in battle us for that final survival place.

“Every team that has yet to reach the 40-point mark is still very much involved in this fight, so there’s a bigger spectrum of teams still involved than many think. But if we carry on doing what we do and push the players into that belief-zone which makes us unique as a club then we’ll get to where we need to be.

“We don’t see the challenge ahead with fear; it’s quite the opposite to be honest. We’re desperate for the West Brom game to come around and go to The Hawthorns aiming to continue with our levels and go in search of the points we need.

“I have huge respect for what West Brom have achieved this season, Steve Clarke has done an incredible job in his first managerial role at the club. You can see the team has brought together all the good things from their past and that’s been mixed with the new ideas and focus of Clarke to achieve great heights. Tactically they’re flexible and can change their shape during games with ease, now fighting to keep hold of their place in the top eight places of the league which for me makes them the revelation team of the campaign.”

www.wiganlatics.co.uk

MATCH ODDS

Result

Albion Win: 5/4, Wigan Athletic Win: 21/10, Draw: 12/5.

First Goalscorer

Lukaku 9/2, Long 11/2, Kone 6/1, Odemwingie 7/1, Di Santo 8/1, Rosenberg 9/1, Henriquez 9/1, Maloney 9/1, Morrison 11/1, Gomez 11/1, McManaman 11/1, Dorrans 14/1, Thomas 14/1, Watson 16/1, Mulumbu 20/1, Beausejour 20/1, McArthur 22/1, McCarthy 22/1, Scharner 25/1.

REFEREE

Lee Probert (Wiltshire)

Has refereed just one Albion game this season - the 2-2 draw at home to Aston Villa in January.

The Wiltshire official has taken charge of two Wigan games this season and both ended in 2-1 defeats - at home to Fulham in September and away at Norwich in December.

So far this season Probert has issued 92 yellow cards and five red in the 31 games he has officiated.

TICKET INFORMATION

Tickets will remain on general sale to home supporters up until kick-off.

Tickets for the Category B game are priced adults £25, seniors £20, under-21s/students £15 and under-17s £10.

WEATHER FORECAST

Mostly sunny, 14°C.

FIXTURE HISTORY

LAST LEAGUE MEETING AT THE HAWTHORNS

Albion 1-2 Wigan Athletic
Barclays Premier League
Saturday 10 December 2011, 3:00pm

Albion: Foster, Reid, McAuley, Olsson, Shorey, Brunt, Mulumbu (Dorrans 66), Morrison (Scharner 84), Thomas, Long, Odemwingie (Tchoyi 80). Subs not used: Fulop, Dawson, Jones, Cox.

Goalscorer: Reid 33

Booked: Reid 53 (foul), Dorrans 88 (simulation)

Wigan Athletic: Al Habsi, Stam (McArthur 70), Caldwell, Alcaraz (Gohouri 67), Figueroa, Moses, Diame, Gomez, McCarthy, Jones, Sammon (Di Santo 80). Subs not used: Pollitt, Watson, Maloney, Rodallega.

Goalscorers: Moses 37, Gomez 57 (pen)

Booked: Gomez 21 (unsporting behaviour)

Attendance: 25,446

Referee: Mike Dean (Wirral)

Wigan moved out of the Barclays Premier League's bottom three as West Brom's penalty curse struck again following Jordi Gomez's spot-kick winner at The Hawthorns. Defender Steven Reid's free-kick put the Baggies ahead but Victor Moses' first goal for 13 months brought the Latics level before half-time. Then Albion conceded a penalty for the fourth successive home game when Reid was judged to have fouled Moses - and Gomez ensured back-to-back away wins for Wigan. Roberto Martinez's side have now collected seven points from the last four games to revive their survival hopes.

Moses, whose last goal had been against Albion, was a constant threat. But Wigan also defended efficiently and limited the clearcut openings created by Roy Hodgson's side despite the tireless efforts of Shane Long.

West Brom made a positive start and Latics keeper Ali Al Habsi finger-tipped a powerful 20-yard drive from skipper Chris Brunt onto the bar. The Northern Irishman also had a cross headed just wide by Jonas Olsson. Brunt saw plenty of the ball in the early stages and when his pass found Jerome Thomas, the latter's volley was blocked. Moses had the first shot on goal for Wigan but dragged his effort a couple of yards wide. Peter Odemwingie found Thomas in space and his shot was deflected over his own bar by Wigan defender Ronnie Stam. After 32 minutes a superb free-kick from Reid put Albion with his first goal of the campaign. Gary Caldwell was penalised for a foul on Odemwingie 25 yards out, although Latics boss Roberto Martinez made his feelings about the decision known to the fourth official. Up stepped Reid and curled his shot past the defensive wall and into the roof of the net with Al Habsi stranded. Caldwell made an important block to deny Odemwingie a second goal for Albion before Wigan levelled through Moses. Midfielder Youssouf Mulumbu cut out a cross from Mohamed Diame but the ball fell into the path of Moses who curled his shot past Ben Foster.

Long charged down an attempted clearance from Caldwell early in the second period before attempting to pick out the run of Brunt with his cross. But Maynor Figueroa made a vital headed clearance and Brunt needed treatment before he could continue after the pair collided. Long continued to pose the main threat for Albion, although he over-hit his pass for Odemwingie after a surging run towards the Wigan box. But after 57 minutes Wigan went ahead through Gomez's penalty. Reid felled Moses and up stepped Gomez to send Foster the wrong way with his penalty. Wigan were growing in confidence and Moses had Foster back-pedalling to collect a long-range chip after spotting the keeper off his line. Al Habsi produced a low save save to turn aside a header by Long from Nicky Shorey's centre but Albion were posing little threat. Moses had a shot blocked when Conor Sammon was in space on the edge of the Baggies box. The nearest Albion came to salvaging a point was when Long headed against a post from Thomas's centre.

Sporting Life

CURRENT CONNECTIONS

Paul Scharner spent four and a half years at Wigan before joining Albion in August 2010. The big Austrian became a cult hero at The Hawthorns in his two years at the club before he left for German club Hamburger SV. He spent just six months in Germany before returning to Wigan on loan until the end of the 2012/13 season.

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, Bob Ward, Monty Wilson and Winston White.

ALL-TIME LEAGUE & CUP RECORD VS WIGAN ATHLETIC