Everton vs. Wigan Atheltic
Everton will be looking forward to this fixture with the hope of turning around their dismal on-field record of late. David Moyes’ team has not achieved a single victory in the past six games and many in the squad will relish meeting
the Latics in the fixture on Saturday, to be played at Goodison Park. A silver lining for the Toffees was the 1-1 draw they achieved at Stamford Bridge against title defenders Chelsea. The match was David Moyes’ 400th game in charge of Everton and
the Scotsman commented on the milestone saying he has been “very lucky and fortunate” to have taken the reins at Goodison Park. He further stated that "If life is good to me and Everton is good to me and I feel I am still up for it and the supporters want
me then I'll be happy to do 400 more.” He admitted to the media that he was really looking for some silverware for the Everton trophy cabinet but at the moment, he was “looking at what's coming next” (the game against Wigan). Wigan Athletic’s form has not
been much better, as they are now the lowest scoring team in the Premier League. They did manage to come onto level twice (after conceding) with Stoke in their last match to claim a point with a 2-2 draw last weekend. Wigan currently are wallowing in the relegation
zone with fifteen points from sixteen matches, and a win against the Toffees would see them leap-frog Moyes’ team into a possible fifteenth position from their current eighteenth.
Everton have obtained seventeen points from playing sixteen matches, as compared to Wigan’s fifteen and have won the same amount of matches as the Latics (three). Moyes’ team has managed to draw eight compared to Roberto Martinez’s
team’s six. Wigan have lost two more matches than Everton’s five. The Toffees have scored eighteen goals this season, five more than their opponents for Saturday. Wigan have conceded twenty-eight goals, eight more than Everton this season. Both teams have
the exact same disciplinary record, with twenty yellow cards and two reds. The two sides have played ten games in the English Premier League so far, with Everton reigning victorious thrice. Wigan have managed to win only two so far and the statistics may favour
the Toffees as they have won the past three fixtures. The last time Wigan travelled to Goodison Park to walk away with all three points was in September 2005, when Damien Francis fired home to boost his side to a 1-0 victory.
Moyes’ team have won three games this season and all three triumphs had been obtained in October, over a period of four fixtures. Since then, from their previous six matches, they have drawn four and lost two. If Everton fail to
reign victorious, it would be the 100th time the Toffees have lost in front of their home crowd. The last time Wigan won in the League was against West Bromwich Albion on the 13th of November in front of their home crowd. That fixture
has proved to be the only win they have managed in the previous nine matches. If Roberto Martinez’s men fail to secure three points, it would turn out to be the team’s 100th loss in the English Premier League. The last time Wigan have won a match
while travelling was against Tottenham in August, and the fixture is their only win from their previous fifteen away games played in the English Premier League competition.
Everton will be banking on their leading goal scorer, Tim Cahill who has fired home eight times this season in the Premier League. Wigan’s Rodallega has scored half the amount Cahill has, but the Latics will b relying on N’Zogbia,
who has four goals this season (three of them league goals).
Moyes’s will miss Arteta through a suspension, Barkley who has a leg injury and Hibbert with an ankle problem. Wigan’s injury list include Franco Di Santo and McCarthy, both sustaining ankle injuries, and Moses with a shoulder
problem.
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