 | Wigan Athletic versus LiverpoolLocation: DW Stadium (Wigan)Date: Wednesday, November 10 Time: 2:45 Eastern Records (W-D-L, +/-, Place): Wigan, 2-4-5, -12, 18th Liverpool, 4-3-4, -2, 9th |  |
English Premier League Preview, Week 12: Can Wigan Stop Liverpool’s Resurgence?
From this weekend’s primed crowd at Anfield, Liverpool takes their titan toppling momentum to what’s sure to be a half-empty DW Stadium. There they’ll take on a Wigan Athletic team that’s fallen back into the drop thanks to their weekend loss at Blackburn. Big club versus little club or hot club versus cold, this match seems straight-forward enough. Best we just post the projected lineups and make our perfunctory pick, right?
Perhaps you can see through my clichéd open and know what's coming, but I doubt this match is going to be that easy. Wigan's four match winless streak belies some decent football. Their loss at Craven Cottage (ten days ago) was the only poor performance in a string that includes a draw at St. James' and point against Bolton. Only an early Clint Dempsey brace has been able to truly derail the Latics.
That’s all elementary if the Reds play as they did on Sunday, but both history and logic tell us Liverpool’s likely to regress. If they don’t, it will be a pleasure to watch - to consider the implications a reborn Liverpool has on the Champions League race. However, if Liverpool is something less than extraordinary, a team that often plods could have trouble against a flowing Latic attack.
Probable Lineup, Wigan (4-3-3): Habsi / Figueroa, Alcarez, G Caldwell, Gohouri / Thomas, Diame, Gomez / Rodallega, Di Santo, N’Zogbia
Probable Lineup, Liverpool (4-4-1-1): Reina / Konchesky, Skrtel, Carragher, Kelly / Rodriguez, Gerrard, Lucas, Meireles / Kuyt, Torres
Key Matchup: Lucas received plaudits for his Sunday performance, but he's been played to that standard for the last two-to-three weeks. He will have to continue today, being especially crucial in breaking up a Wigan counterattack that would otherwise test Jamie Carragher and Martin Skrtel. Lucas will need to destroy those chances before they reach Liverpool's slow defenders.
Battle Within The Battle: As Sunderland builds its challenge for Europe, the few footy fans around the DW might look at Steve Bruce with nostalgic memories of more pragmatic days, before the principled beauty of Roberto Martínez's approach came to Wigan. Not everybody loves football for football's sake. As such, Martínez's style would be found lack by those for whom points are the bottom line. If this were Ebbsfleet United and I had a vote, I'd tell Martínez to keep fighting the good fight. For Latics supporters, the virtues of Gary Megson may start to convince.
Pick: Like The Call (ridiculously) sings, I Still Believe. While yesterday I picked Liverpool, today I'm seeing a draw. After a more critical look at the match-ups, I don't like Liverpool to be as effective against Wigan's midfield as they were against Mikel John Obi, Ramires, and Yuri Zhirkov. While Chelsea's trio is a more talented one than Hendry Thomas, Jordi Gomez and Mohammed Diame, the second group is playing better, particularly within Roberto Martínez's set-up. Even though Wigan is last in the league in goals, something tells me this is a 2-2 or 1-1.
Unanswered Question: After the last two matches, is Steven Gerrard "back"? Three goals against Napoli and a great first half against Chelsea. Do you think the old Stevie G's returned? And if so, what does that mean for Liverpool and England?
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