Wigan v Chelsea Betting Tip & Odds: Well, the way things are going, everyone will be expecting Chelsea to run out as comfortable winner here and that is probably what will happen. It means that we can dip into the Asian Handicap betting market for this one and take a Chelsea -1.5 for a decent price of Evens with Paddy Power.
Wigan to win: 8/1 at Totesport
Draw: 15/4 at Bet365
Chelsea to win: 2/5 at SkyBet
EPL Match Preview: Big points are at stake in this game on Saturday in the Premier League. Chelsea are still seven points adrift of leaders Man City in the title race, despite beating them on Monday night. Things are pretty tight in the top five at the moment and Chelsea really need to rock out a win in order to keep pace with those around them. The Blues go into the match on the back of a three game winning streak and look to be over their blip in form. They have tightened up at the back, and are looking more dangerous in front of goal. Which could be bad news for Wigan, who need points to try and draw themselves away from the relegation zone. There have been signs of a mini revival, especially spurred on by their comeback against West Brom last weekend. But Chelsea have scored more than twice the amount of goals that Wigan have this season, so will the home side be able to hold out and snatch a crucial win, or will Chelsea keep up the pressure on those around them in the title race, all of which play the following day on Sunday?
Wigan Form: The early season struggles of Wigan Athletic just look as if they maybe abating somewhat. After pulling out an important win over West Brom in their last Premier League match, Wigan have now lost just one of their last four matches. A stark turn around in form the previous four to that which saw them lose four in a row. Their small upturn in form has seen them claw their way off the bottom of the table, but they still have a lot of work to do, because they are still in 18th spot and just three points from the bottom. They have been helped by the slides of Blackburn and Bolton of course, but now face a big test on their road to recovery as they host Chelsea. They will be looking for a big home support to try and get something out of this match against the title contenders. However, Wigan have won just once at home this season in the league, an early triumph over QPR, and they have picked up just two more points in their home endeavors thanks to two draws. While Wigan fans will be optimistic that their side is turning things around, their home form still reads four defeats out of their last five, with a 3-3 draw against fellow strugglers Blackburn breaking that sequence. Goal scoring is clearly the problem for Wigan, as they have managed just eight in their seven home matches so far, and averaging 1.14 goals per game at home, isn’t going to get you very far in a season. Not when you are conceding an average of double that amount per game anyway. Wigan have only kept one clean sheet at home this season, so obviously not great at the back. Interestingly the period of the fifteen minutes before half time is when Wigan are apparently at their most dangerous, as they have scored seven goals this season in that period, the same total as they have managed at all other times of their matches combined. Wigan have only scored first in 20% of their matches this season, and have only led at half time in one of their games. Really not much to write home about up front, with Di Santo and Gomez combining for seven goals on the season and that’s about it. In their last twelve matches, Wigan have conceded at least one goal, so their aren’t great omens for them in this match really. Could be another tough afternoon in their scrap for survival this season. Against other top opposition this season, Wigan have lost 3-0 against Man City and 4-0 recently against Arsenal.
Chelsea Form: Well, we have seen a definite upswing in Chelsea’s form too, so much so that boss Andre Villas Boas has felt vindicated enough to attack the press for writing him off. That may come back to bite him at some point, but regardless, Chelsea are looking in great shape at the moment. December is going to be hugely important for them, and with an easy win over Newcastle to start off the month, and then following that up with a massive 2-1 home win over leaders Manchester City, Chelsea look to be back on track. Villas Boas has stuck to his guns, tweaked the defensive tactics and hasn’t been afraid to go with a new look midfield, which seems to be working. Striker Didier Drogba coming back into his old hungry form hasn’t done any harm at all, but the Blues will lose him early next year to the African Cup of Nations, and with Nicolas Anelka already departing, Chelsea, will at some point have to rely on the contributions of Fernando Torres. Villas Boas has stated that the Spaniard is not for sale in January. Chelsea have suffered two defeats on the road this season, but have turned things around after winning their last two away trips. That has taken them to four wins and a draw away from home, along with those two defeats, which is a 57% win percentage outside of Stamford Bridge, which isn’t great, but could be worse. Chelsea have fired in 12 away goals this season, and have conceded just six, meaning that they are, on average, scoring twice as many as they are conceding away from. However, after struggling for so long this season to keep a clean sheet, the Blues have produced two in their last three, and have scored eight goals in their last three league games as well. So are definitely starting to click, helped out by Villas Boas sending out a settled side, no doubt. Chelsea have been at the most dangerous in front of goal in the last fifteen minutes of games, and have scored first in 60% of their matches, not as high as you may imagine. Frank Lampard and Daniel Sturridge both have seven goals each for the season, being joint top scorers for their club. 80% of Chelsea’s matches this season have ended over 2.5 goals.
Head to Head: The record stands firmly in favour of Chelsea in this head to head. Out of nine matches between the two sides at Wigan, Chelsea have won seven of them, and Wigan just twice. There have been no draws between them at Wigan, and the Blues have scored more than twice as many goals as Wigan have in this fixture. Chelsea average 2.56 goals in this fixture. Last season’s corresponding fixture ended in a 6-0 away win for Chelsea, but the home fixture before that in the previous season, resulted in a shock 3-1 win for Wigan. All in all though, Wigan have only beaten Chelsea three times out of seventeen encounters in total. The Blues look something of a sure bet.
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