The reigning champions travel to the DW Stadium in a bid to regain their place on top of the Premier League after a disappointing result against Chelsea on Sunday.
Form Guide:
Wigan Athletic:
Following seasons of consistently battling relegations, Wigan, finally seem to have overcome their Premier League hurdle and are performing quite well in the League, with several wins over teams including Reading and Tottenham strengthening their case for top tier survival.
However, getting the better of the current title holders will show their intent and perhaps raise their confidence levels by many folds.
Manchester City:
The Citizens were below-par against http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Chelsea-c38786 on the weekend and struggled to get into top gear, with many players spurning the chance to leave Stamford Bridge with three points to spare.
Manager http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Roberto-c31294 Mancini has one of the strongest squads in the country at his disposal and will be hoping that they make short work of Wigan at home, but considering their lethargic form, that seems unlikely at this point.
Team News:
Wigan Athletic:
The Latics have a number of key players out injured, with http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Shaun-Maloney-c33274, currently with a hamstring and groin problem respectively.
James McArthur (thigh), http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Gary-Caldwell-c14440 (hamstring), Antolin Alacaraz (groin) and Albert Crusat (knee) are the remaining causalities, but have shown enough progress to suggest that they could be in the line-up for the Newcastle tie next month.
Manchester City:
Gael Clichy and captain http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Vincent-Kompany-c36184 are major doubts for the game, with the Belgian in particular looking fragile after playing through the Stamford Bridge tie through pain.
On the other hand, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Joe-Hart-c18699 set to continue his fine form between the posts.
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Gareth-Barry-c14423 will act as midfield enforcers.
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Sergio-c33030 Aguero are the main attackers and will be raring to go after a tepid outing in London.
However, the Italian coach does not have so straight forward, as Eden Dzeko, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Mario-Balotelli-c23937 will also be clamouring for a role in the starting line-up.
Balotelli, in particular, has come under intense scrutiny in the last few weeks, as his training ethic and temperament have been questioned by the club coaches.
That though will be the story on the sidelines, while the rest of the team looks to secure victory. James Milner seems to have been fazed by the earlier draw and now is eager to win at the DW Stadium.
"We were the better side, we had the better chances and restricted them to not too many. I thought we played a good game and didn't quite get the three points. We have got things to work on. We need to take our chances - we had a number of corners and chances that didn't go our way."
Continuing, the player claimed that the side have been performing well in terms of their solidarity and ability to carve out chances, but failure to convert those chances has cost them extensively.
“When we are on top in games and have territory and chances we are not quite putting teams to bed like we should be. Hopefully we can improve on that during the season. There are positives and negatives to take out of the game,” added the Englishman.
Author Prediction
Wigan Athletic 0:2 Manchester City
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