Premiership - Wigan v Stoke City

9 February 2010

Preview By Tipster Jumbo (New Zealand)

Wigan drew with the Black Cats last time out and will feel good about the effort, while Stoke had a huge 3-0 win over Rovers, however they are on the road for this match, a place where they have not gone as well as they have at home….

Wigan may of drawn with Sunderland but their overall form is still dodgy and it is hard to trust them to even stay in a game yet alone win it outright, Wigan have only won 1 of their last 5 at home a place where they used to be very hard to beat and that win came 3 matches ago against Hull 4-1, I’m almost positive that Wigan will turn up for this match and try to get something from it mainly a win but you just cannot trust them to do that and the side they play today in Stoke won’t make it easy for them either, especially not when you consider that Stoke have scored 3 goals less than the Lactics on this season but have allowed 22 goals less than them, Personal wise and Melchiot is back in line for selection for Wigan but otherwise they remain the same side as last weekend.

Stoke haven’t scored a goal in 5 consecutive away matches, but a visit to Wigan could improve that record and if Stoke are defensively as sound as they have been over recent matches they might not have to score a goal to leave here with a point, The 3 goals they put past Rovers last weekend has to have this Potters side lacing their licks at maybe getting an away result in this fixture but again their home form and away form are vastly different and banking on them to win this game is a stretch at the best of times, Stoke have 2 draws and 3 losses in their last 5 away matches with the 3 losses coming against sides the calibre of Arsenal 2-0 , Villa 1-0 and Man City 2-0 while the draws came against Rovers and Sunderland, they are though well above the relagation zone and sit in 11th spot on the EPL table which for them would be like being in Heaven and even if they continuie to win and surprise their end of season standing could be the stuff of dreams should they climb into the Top 10, Personal wise and Stoke have no real personal changes to talk about.

Recent Results: Played 3, Wigan 0, Stoke 1, Drawn 2……Round 16, 12-Dec-2009 at Stoke : Stoke vs Wigan 2 - 2……Round 37, 16-May-2009 at Stoke : Stoke vs Wigan 2 - 0……Round 12, 08-Nov-2008 at Wigan : Wigan vs Stoke 0 – 0

Stoke are very hard to break down and their season plan appears to be win at home and try not to lose away, they will have some chances in this match on the break as Wigan push forward looking for the winning goal but Stoke have been the masters especially against teams of the same calibre or worse and you would have to say that Wigan are at least in that range of sides and so I think a draw is really on the cards here but with Stoke being offered at double your money odds at +1 I’m more than happy to go with that….Good Luck.