Chelsea v Wigan Athletic, English Premier League match preview
Chelsea host minnows, Wigan Athletic, at Stamford Bridge where about 40,000 people would be in support of their home team.
The match holds key importance for both teams, as Wigan, who are placed last on the English Premier League table would be itching to get a win under their belt to keep their hopes alive for top-flight status.
Whereas, the Blues, by ending up victorious can snatch third spot from Manchester City in case City lose their match against Liverpool.
Statistics favour Chelsea big time
Carlo Ancelotti’s Chelsea have dented Wigan big time on the last two occasions by scoring 14 goals against them. Chelsea have only been defeated once by Roberto http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Mancini-c23323’s Wigan Athletic in the whole English Premier League history.
The Latics got a surprise 3-1 victory over Chelsea in the 2009-10 season. But, it was http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Chelsea-c38786, who took perfect revenge from Wigan, by thrashing them 8-0 on the last day of the season, which also won them Premier League silverware after three years.
Chelsea holds a crystal clear edge over Wigan on goal scoring comparison. Chelsea have netted 54 goals this season, which ranked them third in the goal scoring list. While, Latics have struggled to find goal scoring opportunities, as they have only scored 29 goals in their 31 fixtures, keeping a disappointing proportion of less than one goal per match.
Chelsea and Wigan have come face-to-face on 11 occasions before in Premier League history, where Chelsea have won nine times, lost once, while one match ended in a draw.
Recent Form
Chelsea suffered a marginal 1-0 defeat at the hands of Manchester United in their recent Quarter-final Champions League clash. But have remained unbeaten in their last five Premier league games since their last defeat at home against Liverpool about two months back.
On the other hand, Wigan have only won one match out of their last five Premier League clashes and that was against Birmingham city last month. Under the coaching of Roberto Mancini, Wigan hasn’t done exceedingly well, as they have only won 15 encounters from their 69 league games, while they suffered 32 defeats.
Team News
Chelsea have no big injury worries, which gave Carlo Ancelotti an option to select his team from a full squad. There are very bright chances that defender, Alex Rodrigo, could be seen on the ground after a four month break.
Wigan would also have their full squad available for the game after their captain, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Gary-Caldwell-c14440, returned from dental care.
Key Players
Chelsea would expect the under pressure and talented http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Liverpool-c39809.
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Hugo-Rodallega-c16414 would be one man from Wigan, who has the potential to dent Chelsea with his goal scoring talent. He has scored seven goals this season.
Prediction
It would come as a big surprise if Wigan won the game. Considering the impeccable track record Chelsea has over the Latics, they are expected to thrash and clinch an easy 3-0 victory over them.
Tags: