Wigan Athletic v Swansea City - Match preview, team news, statistics & analysis

     Wigan Athletic  vs Swansea City            Barclays Premier League

    Tuesday 07/05/13

    19:45pm K.O.

    The DW Stadium

      Referee: Kevin Friend

The Match

Wigan are once more involved in what seems to be their perennial end-of-season battle against relegation. Things probably haven't quite worked out as Martinez planned when he left the Swans, but the Spaniard deserves huge credit for repeatedly pulling Wigan clear of the relegation zone, when it would have been all too easy for his side to capitulate. There was a point earlier this season where it seemed their relegation was almost a foregone conclusion, however they've once again rallied and victory over the Swans could see (other results dependent) Martinez's side leaping to 15th in the table, with Sunderland, Newcastle and Norwich all looking nervously over their shoulder.

Swansea seemed to take a step forward against Man City after a series of indifferent performances which has now seen them go seven league games without a win. While City spurned two glorious late chances the Swans also had opportunities to win the game, and will no doubt take confidence from giving such illustrious opponents a run for their money. Three points at the DW should realistically be enough to see the Swans finish in the top half of the table, but Laudrup will have to make do without top scorer Miguel Michu who looks set to miss the rest of the season after appearing to pull his hamstring against Man City.

Last time out

Swansea 2 - 1 Wigan

The Swans came out on top in South Wales thanks, in part, to an offside decision as debatable as Roland Lamah's against West Brom a month or so ago. Remarkably, all three goals came in six second half minutes. The Swans had gone ahead through a neat finish from Pablo and a Michu header from a corner, before Emerson Boyce's clever flicked finish gave Wigan hope. The main talking point for Latic's fans however was Arouna Kone's header, which was incorrectly ruled out for offside when it seemed he'd rescued a draw for his team. What Wigan would do for that point now...

Prior Form (most recent at top)

Premier League                West Brom        2 - 3  Wigan
Premier League                Wigan              2 - 2  Tottenham
Premier League                West Ham         2 - 0  Wigan        

Premier League                Man City           1 - 0  Wigan
FA Cup Semi Final            Millwall              0 - 2  Wigan

Premier League                Swansea       0 - 0   Man City   
Premier League                 Chelsea         2 - 0  Swansea
Premier League                Swansea       0 - 0   Southampton
Premier League                 Norwich         2 - 2  Swansea
Premier League                Swansea       1 - 2  Tottenham

Team News

Wigan will be without Jean Beausejour who's picked up a hamstring injury while Ivan Ramis (ACL injury) continues to miss out. Maynor Figueroa (groin) and Albert Crusat (knee) are both unavailable, but Antonio Alcaraz is approaching full fitness, and along with Gary Caldwell could face a fitness test ahead of the game.

Swansea will have to make do without Michu who injured his hamstring against Man City, while Roland Lamah is unlikely to feature after picking up the same injury in training last week.

Trivia - "Courtesy" of Opta, the BBC and various other sites;

• 69% of Wigan Athletic's matches have seen over 2.5 goals scored in total. 

• Wigan have conceded at least one goal in 94% of their home matches.

• Wigan have conceded an average of two goals per home game this season.

• Wigan No.1 Joel has conceded a goal every 1.29 games on average, a considerably better rate than the Latics' other keeper Ali Al-Habsi, who has let in one every 1.96 games.

• Wigan have conceded the opening goal 23 times in this season's Premier League, the most by any team in the top flight in 2012-13.

• Wigan have only won four games at home this season.

• Arouna Kone is only one goal off equalling the club's record goal haul of 12, set by Henri Camara  in 2005-2006.

• Swansea have failed to score in their last three matches in the Premier League.

• Swansea have conceded at least two goals in their last four away games. 

• Wigan have scored 59% of their goals from open play, but that's dwarfed by Swansea's 83%.

• Swansea average 560 passes a game to Wigan's 506, while the Swans average "passing streak" is 5.4 compared to Wigan's 4.7.

Completely guessed lineups

Straight from the "horse's mouth";

Ashley Williams acknowledged recent results have been slightly sub-par, but thought that the Man City game was a step in the right direction:

"It's not good enough [recent results. If you take away the Arsenal and the Tottenham games, we should have done a lot better in each of the other matches. 

"I think, for whatever reason, we took our eye off the ball. But I also thought against Manchester City we performed well and were back on our game. 

"It's not been enjoyable not winning a game for so many weeks, but a draw against the ex-champions isn't a bad result.

Ben Davies has indicated there is no sentimentality about Tuesday's game, despite Martinez's links with the Swans:

 "Wigan had a great result against West Brom, so they'll be in good spirits facing us. They're fighting for their lives, and we've got to go up there and spoil their party. It's not nice saying it like that, but we need points too because we want to finish as high as possible. 

"Tuesday's game is an opportunity to get three points and to create a little gap between ourselves and the teams below us, so we need three points as much as they do".

Roberto Martinez fittingly marks 150 Premier League games in charge of Wigan against the Swans, but is looking to turn the tables on his former club:

"I never really take much notice of landmarks but 150 games in the Premier League...fills me with immense pride. 

"This football club is an incredible place for me and always will be. I'm proud to reach that landmark but it's important we mark it with a good performance and three points. It's certainly pleasing to see a real continuity in our performances. 

"The last four games have seen displays of the highest order and that's when you need to take three points. We are not viewing Tuesday's game simply as a chance to move out of the bottom three. Each week the table has its twists and turns so for me the only thing to focus on is the opportunity to add more points to our tally." 

Analysis

Wigan are all too easy to write off, and in players like Shaun Maloney and Arouna Kone they have the ability to punish teams as West Brom found out on Saturday. The former has enjoyed a purple patch of late, and he was Wigan's most impressive performer last time out. He gave the Baggies a torrid time, getting two superb assists for Wigan's second and third goals, and the Swans will have to be on guard to make sure he doesn't repeat the trick.

Kone is a handful too. Ash Williams and Chico were at their imperious best on Saturday so hopefully they'll carry that form through until the end of the season, as three points here would be more than welcome for anyone connected with Swansea City. Callum McManaman has scored in Wigan's last two league matches and the defence will need to watch against him too - the Wigan forward line is easily the most capable part of their team for me, and if they could stop conceding ridiculous goals they'd be significantly higher in the table. Then again, it takes one to know one and the same could be said about the Swans - had it not been for defensive failings at set-pieces we could also be significantly better off at this point in the season.

In midfield I expect Ki to return after missing the Man City game. He was excellent against Chelsea (one of few who were) and can have considered himself unlucky to miss out against City as Laudrup brought Dyer in to go with the "three wingers" formation. With De Guzman again not enjoying his best day in a Swans shirt, I'd be very surprised if the Korean wasn't recalled to the starting XI, especially considering his mastery of the possession game - keeping the ball away from Wigan will be crucial and Ki is excellent in this respect. Wigan have numbers in midfield, and in James McArthur, James McCarthy and Ben Watson they have a combative and effective midfield unit, so the Swans will have to rely on skill as opposed to a numerical advantage in the middle if they are to retain possession.

Up front it seems almost certain one of Luke Moore or Itay Shechter will get the nod. The only positive I can draw right now is that it appears Wigan are missing a couple of first choice defenders. Luke Moore has impressed on occasion, but no Swans fan can honestly say that with Michu out of the team the calibre of our attack isn't damaged. While the Spaniard hasn't been on fire of late the knowledge he's capable of pulling a top-drawer finish out of the bag inspires confidence throughout the squad, and in contrast it's debatable whether having a zero-goal loan striker up front provokes any kind of positive reaction from those around him.

I really do feel that whether Maloney gets the better of Rangel or not will decide this game. The Swans right-back will have his hands full - the Scottish forward has two goals in his last three home games for the Latics and is probably enjoying his best run of form since moving south of the border. If Rangel contains him, I can see the Swans winning this comfortably. If Maloney gets his tail up early on, it could be a different story altogether.

Iechyd Da.