West Ham Utd v Wigan Athletic

Saturday 24^th April 2010, Kick Off 3.00pm
Upton Park, West Ham

Tickets

Tickets are available until midday on Friday 23rd April.  Tickets will be available from Upton Park on the day of the game from gate 73 for adults and juniors.  Seniors must buy tickets from the main ticket office.

Watch

Roberto Martinez video preview. [watch]
Gary Caldwell ready for return. [watch]
Wigan v Arsenal highlights. [watch]

Listen

Listen to full match commentary from Upton Park with your commentary team of Graham Lovett and Paul Chialton.  If you're not already a Latics Player subscriber, [click here] for immediate access.  Remember signing up to Latics Player will give you access to match highlights, commentary services and video interviews which will include interviews and footage of any new signings in the close-season.

Preview

This could be the game that will see Latics secure their Premier League status for a sixth consecutive season.  It truly is one of those Cup Finals with so much riding on the game for both sides.  A win for Wigan will mean they stay in the Premier League for another season. If Hull fail to beat Sunderland, that will also do the trick.

Team News

Hendry Thomas is the only Wigan player not to be in contention for Saturday's trip to London.  The manager has selection headaches of the right kind with Gary Caldwell returning from suspension, Steve Gohouri will consider himself unlucky if he loses out to the Scot as he has not put a foot wrong as deputy.

West Ham could be boosted by the return of Luis Boa Morte who continued his comeback from a knee injury by completing his first full 90 minutes in 11 months for the reserves against Spurs on Tuesday.

The Manager

Roberto Martinez has been keeping a close eye on Saturday's opponents and knows they'll present a different type of threat than Arsenal.

"We're all aware that the game against West Ham is going to be completely different to the one against Arsenal.

"They'll play with a real high tempo and try to take the initiative early on, so we have to be ready for that and be prepared to carry on with the good work we did last weekend.

"When you look at West Ham's last three home games it's clear they have quality all over the park, and international players with plenty of experience.

"They're going to be a tough team to play at their ground, and we know they have the same needs and ambitions at the moment that we have, so we're fully aware of the task ahead and ready to go."

Head to Head

West Ham have a slight advantage in the head-to-head with 6 league wins to Latics' 5.  The reverse fixture this season saw Latics edge it with a narrow 1-0 win.

	Hammers Wins	Draws	LaticsWins
League	5	2	6
FA Cup	0	0	2
Total	5	2	8

Table Watch

Pos	Team	Pl	Dif	Pts
13	Sunderland	35	-7	41
14	Bolton	35	-25	35
15	Wigan	35	-33	35
16	Wolverhampton	35	-23	34
17	West Ham	35	-19	31
18	Hull	35	-40	28
19	Burnley	35	-37	27
20	Portsmouth (R)	35	-33	15

Leading Scorers

West Ham: Carlton Cole - 9 Goals (9 League)
Wigan Athletic: Hugo Rodallega - 9 Goals (9 League)

Last Line Ups

West Ham: Green: Upson, Spector ( Daprela, 80), Da Costa, Kovac, Noble, Behrami, Faubert, Stanislas ( Franco, 45), Cole ( McCarthy, 72), Ilan
Subs not used: Gabbidon, Diamanti, Kurucz, Mido.

Wigan: Kirkland, Bramble, Gohouri, Melchiot, Figueroa, Watson (Scharner, 89), N'Zogbia, Diame, McCarthy, Rodallega, Moreno (Moses, 62)
Subs not used: Scotland, Sinclair, Boyce, Stojkovic, Gomez.

Betting

Thank you to our principal sponsor 188Bet who have provided free travel to hundreds of Latics fans who are travelling to Upton Park for this game.  You can get a free £25 bet with 188BET [here].

Match Officials

Referee: Alan Wiley
Assistant Referees: Mick Murphy & Phil Sharp
4^th Official: Tony Bates

Next Game

Wigan Athletic v Hull City
Barclays Premier League
Monday 3^rd May 2010
DW Stadium, Wigan
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