Wigan Athletic v Burnley
Saturday 20th March 2010, Kick Off 3.00pm
DW Stadium, Wigan
Tickets
Tickets are available until kick off from stadium ticket office. [Click Here] for full details.
Watch
Roberto Martinez pre-match interview. [watch]
Wigan v Aston Villa highlights. [watch]
Listen
Listen to full match commentary from 2.45pm with your commentary team of Graham Lovett and Neill Rimmer. If you're not already a Latics Player subscriber, today is your last chance to take advantage of our 14-day free trial offer. [Click Here] for details.
Preview
If there is such a thing as 'six pointer,' this could be it! A win for Wigan on Saturday would put Roberto Martinez's side seven points clear of Burnley in the table with just seven games to go.However the manager has been keen not to talk about points targets but instead talk about performances.
Burnley come to Wigan in a week where paper talk has suggested that Brian Laws might be relieved of his duties just nine games into his Burnley tenure, talk that was quickly dismissed by both the man in question and the Club.
What isn't in doubt is the importance of the fixture and how this game can kick start Latics' run-in.
Team News
Wigan will give Charles N'Zogbia (hip) until the last minute to pull through, after he was taken off during the Aston Villa game and as of Thursday, hadn't trained with the rest of the squad.
For Burnley Steven Caldwell and Chris McCann remain on the sidelines.
The Manager
Wigan Athletic manager Roberto Martinez refuses to be drawn on setting a points target for survival but instead believes that concentrating on performance will achieve safety, with the help of the fans.
"I'm looking for consistency in our performances, but as happy as we were with how we played against Aston Villa it's important that we start getting points at this stage of the season.
"I think setting yourself points targets distracts your focus and makes you anxious the closer you get to the target.
"I'm delighted with the standards we've shown and you can see the responsibility the players have in how they've dealt with the decisions that have gone against us recently.
"We have to, as a club, get out of the position we're in by concentrating and relying on the fans' support. If we can replicate what we showed against Liverpool we'll enjoy the challenge."
Head to Head
| |
Latics Wins |
Draws |
Burnley Wins |
| League |
8 |
7 |
2 |
| League Cup |
2 |
0 |
0 |
| Other |
1 |
0 |
0 |
| Total |
11 |
7 |
2 |
Last Line-upsLatics (v Aston Villa (H) L0-1): Kirkland, Bramble, Caldwell, Boyce (Scotland, 89), Figueroa, N'Zogbia (Moses, 56), Diame, McCarthy (Scharner, 71), Thomas, Rodallega, Moreno.
Subs not used: Amaya, Sinclair, Stojkovic, Gomez.
Burnley (v Wolves (H) L1-2): Jensen, Mears, Fox (Jordan, 40), Carlisle, Bikey (Blake, 55), Cort, Eagles (Thompson, 55), Alexander, Elliott, Nugent, Paterson.
Subs not used: Weaver, Duff, Edgar, Rodriguez.
Last Five Meetings24/10/09 -
Premier League - Burnley 1 Latics 3
28/12/04 -
Championship - Burnley 1 Latics 0
14/09/04 -
Championship - Latics 0 Burnley 0
31/01/04 -
Championship - Latics 0 Burnley 0
23/08/03 -
Championship - Burnley 0 Latics 2
Top ScorersWigan: Hugo Rodallega - 8 Goals (8 league)
Burnley: Steven Fletcher - 11 Goals (7 league)
Match OfficialsReferee: Mike Jones
Assistants: David Coote & Scott Ledger
4th Official: Kevin Friend
Next GameManchester City v Wigan AthleticBarclays Premier League
Monday 29
th March 2010, Kick Off 2010
Eastlands, Manchester
