Wigan v Newcastle – Match preview.
Posted on January 2nd, 2011 | 72 Comments |
A win for Newcastle will take them to at least 10th, whilst a win for Wigan will see them leapfrog us and will ensure that Newcastle drop down two places in the table, ever closer to that rather ominous Premier League trap door.
Given the way we generally play when we go to Wigan, I have to say that I am not entirely confident about getting a result, although I do live in eternal hope that we can perhaps one day end our run of poor results, and poor performances, that seem to harvest themselves every time the team set foot in Lancashire!
Both teams are missing key men, with the main question being which team will miss their key player the most? Charles N’Zogbia will miss the game for Wigan as he starts his three match ban after being sent off against Arsenal, whist Newcastle look set to be without Andy Carroll after he picked up a thigh strain. Who is going to miss their player the most? I fear it may be us…..
Kevin Nolan, Shola Ameobi, Jose Enrique and Sol Campbell are ready to be called upon again after missing out last time through various injuries and suspensions, whilst Steve Harper looks set to reclaim his place in the Newcastle goal at the expense of Tim Krul, which seems harsh to me in all fairness, and let’s not forget to give an honourable mention to Dan Gosling who is included in the match day squad for the first time since he arrived from Everton.
Having digested all of that I would suggest that we will equip ourselves to tackle Wigan with a team of;
Newcastle: Steve Harper, Danny Simpson, Steven Taylor, Fabricio Coloccini, Jose Enrique, Wayne Routledge, Cheik Tiote, Joey Barton, Jonas Gutierrez, Kevin Nolan, Shola Ameobi.
Wigan have their own injury concerns for the match this afternoon. Antolin Alcaraz is rated as ’50-50′ to make the match after picking up a thigh problem, but the hosts will definately be without Emerson Boyce, James McCarthy, Franco di Santo and Victor Moses, aswell as Charlie boy as I mentioned earlier.
Last time out, Wigan managed a very creditable 2-2 draw with Arsenal, despite being down to ten men. In that game they lined up with a team of;
Wigan: Ali Al Habsi, Ronnie Stam, Gary Caldwell, Antolin Alcaraz, Steve Gohouri, Hendry Thomas, Mohammed Diame, Tom Cleverley, Ben Watson, Charles N’Zogbia, Hugo Rodallega.
Newcastle have lost all four previous league visits to Wigan, conceding five goals and scoring only once. The only Newcastle player to score at the DW Stadium is Danny Guthrie on Boxing Day 2008.
Wigan are the least potent side in the division, scoring only 17 goals in 19 matches. Ben Watson became the Latics’ seventh different goalscorer this season when he scored against Arsenal. Only Sunderland, with five scorers, have fewer.
Newcastle have lost their last three away games conceding 10 goals in the process whilst Wigan are unbeaten in six matches at the DW Stadium.
All in all, as I mentioned earlier, I have a horrible feeling about the match today. I hope I’m wrong as I am travelling up to the game and hope that we can get at least a share of the spoils, but our recent form at Wigan is something that leaves me feeling less confident about achieving that.
My prediction: Wigan 2-0 Newcastle.
Howay the lads!
Date: Sunday, 2nd January, 2011.
Kick-off: 4:00pm.
Venue: The DW Stadium, Wigan, Lancashire.
Referee: Howard Webb MBE.
NUFCBlog Author: toonsy
toonsy has written 643 articles on this blog.
Our first game of 2011 :) It will be very tough game without Carroll but hopefully we can bounce back after 2 defeat in Boxing day.