Wigan v Chelsea Betting Odds, Tips and Preview

Lost First Goalscorer refunds if Fernando Torres nets first or last

Premier League Betting

Wigan V Chelsea
Both sides had their struggles last season at the opposite ends of the table. Wigan turned in a wonderful end of season run to pull themselves clear of relegation, while Roberto Di Matteo picked up the pieces of Chelsea’s poor first half of the season, guiding them to FA Cup and Champions League success. A big opener for both, will home advantage set the Latics off on the right foot?

Wigan v Chelsea Betting Odds at online bookmaker Paddy Power:
Chelsea 8/13, Draw 11/4, Wigan 5/1

Verdict:
There is a slight concern over Chelsea as their pre-season form was poor and it doesn’t truly look as if Roberto Di Matteo knows what his best side is yet. He is under instructions to produce performances with more attacking flair, so they have to change style as well integrate the few new players they have picked up. Wigan almost got the better of Chelsea twice last season and they will be fired up to claim a big scalp at the start of this season. Chelsea don’t look settled and therefore there could be a bit of value in taking Wigan at +0.75 Asian Handicap for a price of 2/1 at online bookmaker Paddy Power.

Stat Attack:

Wigan have lost just two of their last eleven Premier League matches
Chelsea have a strong record of eleven wins in 14 EPL matches against Wigan
Wigan have lost just one of the last eight at home in the EPL
Chelsea have won just one of the last nine away EPL matches

Head to Head:
Wigan have managed just two wins of ten home matches played against Chelsea. That should put the Blues in good stead you would think, but they have shared the spoils over the last few meetings, with one draw and a win for each. So things are evenly placed between them, so will Wigan be able to pounce on the time which Chelsea need to gel?

Online bookmaker promotion:
Online bookmaker Ladbrokes have a great Money Back Special running for Wigan v Chelsea betting. If Fernando Torres scores either the First or the Last goal of the match, then Ladbrokes will refund any losing first goalscorer bets. In the First Goalscorer market, Fernando Torres is trading as 7/2 favourite, with Daniel Sturridge at 9/2. Then comes a host of players like Juan Mata, Lucas Piazon and Eden Hazard at around 7/1. Wigan’s top option is Franco di Santos at 10/1. Online bookmaker Ladbrokes offer a free £50 bet for new customers who register an account using the special sign up code of FB50.

Wigan v Chelsea Betting Preview:
Wigan very nearly toppled Chelsea at Stamford Bridge back in April, and that was after holding the big spending Blues to a 1-1 draw. It will be interesting to see how Wigan get off the mark here, because their end of season form was remarkable of course, and it was what kept them afloat and preserved their Premier League status. Boss Roberto Martinez has stayed loyal to Wigan after they have showed tremendous backing and patience with the Spaniard himself. Martinez did hold talks with Liverpool, but decided to stay with the Latics. They have also managed to hang on to forward Victor Moses despite numerous attempts from Chelsea to snap up the youngster. They have let some players go, like Chris Kirkland, Mohamed Diame and Hugo Rodallego, while they have brought in Ryo Miyaichi and Ivan Ramis. The Latics won a whole army of new fans for the way they approached their relegation troubles. They never gave up on their football ethic, keeping the ball on the deck and playing some attractive and brave football, which did see them beat the likes of Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal along the way. If the Latics can reproduce that end of season form from last term right off the bat then they won’t be anywhere near a relegation fight. But did the best only come out of them once their backs were against the wall?

Chelsea have tried to issue a a changing of the guard, but only new signing Eden Hazard made it into the starting line up for the Community Shield defeat against Manchester City. The rest of the starting eleven were all left over from last season. It would have been interesting if they had picked up Victor Moses who would have faced his previous club out of the gate. So the European Champions may not be too much different from last season and because the Blues finished way down in sixth spot, they could have some major catch up work to do to close the gap on the two Manchester clubs. The Blues’ back line looks a bit of concern, as it is not particularly quick, and they will still be relying heavily on Fernando Torres to come good to help fire them have a strong season. The Blues do look as if they need more to raise a serious title challenge in the league and that will put a tremendous amount of pressure upon the shoulders of Roberto di Matteo. But Chelsea’s off season form was poor and combined with the Community Shield loss, the Blues have lost four matches in a row now. Not great form for the new season from the Blues and the last thing they need is dented confidence. With the power of the Manchester clubs, falling behind early on in the title race is almost going to be a death-knell for Chelsea’s title ambitions.