EPL Preview: Chelsea vs Wigan Athletic

It has been a disastrous week for Chelsea as the Blues suffered a draw at Stoke City and a home defeat to Manchester United, thus seeing their silverware dreams in both the Premier League and Champions League slip away from them. After the disappointing string of results, it is vital that Chelsea win against Wigan Athletic, who are fighting a relegation battle, on Saturday to get their Premier League campaign back on track.

The Title Chasers and the Relegation Battlers fight it out at Stamford Bridge

CHELSEATheir poor form and low spirits notwithstanding, what will work in Chelsea’s favour against the Latics will be their impeccable record which stands at 9 wins out of 11. With history in their favour, the Blues will be looking to get the job done against basement club Wigan and not give room for the Latics to pull a rabbit out of their hat and cause an upset.

An encounter with the bottom team of the Premier League could be the ideal chance for the misfiring Torres to get back in the groove

For Carlo Ancelotti and Chelsea, selection dilemmas continue to rule the roost as big-money signing Fernando Torres, Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka continuing to vie for starting roles. Torres and Drogba were paired in the Manchester United game and the pair was a disaster due to the lack of chemistry between the two extremely similar strikers, with the Spaniard yet to break his scoring duck for his new club. With lowly Wigan however, Torres could fancy of his chances of getting back into the groove before it’s too late for title-chasing Chelsea.

Long time injury casualty Yossi Benayoun could return to action and Brazilian defender Alex will start on the bench recovering from his knee surgery. Luckily for the Blues, David Luiz will be playing tonight, unlike the Champions League where he was cup-tied and was missed sorely.

WIGAN ATHLETIC

As for all things Wigan Athletic, the good news for them is that the last 8 teams in the Premier League table are only 7 points apart and the Latics are themselves two points away from safety. If they perform well in the upcoming matches, things can change for the better for them. But the bad news is that they would not have been in this position in the first place had they shown some endurance on the field. With only 7 games left to play, time is running out for Roberto Martinez’s men and the fight for survival must begin in full flight at Stamford Bridge.

With Premier League Survival being the name of the game for Wigan, Roberto Martinez will be hoping for at least a point from the Bridge

After some emergency dental work this week, Wigan captain Gary Caldwell is available for the trip to West London, which means the bottom side are at full strength for a smashing encounter with the Blue Giants. The Scotland defender required treatment to repair three teeth after a collision with Tottenham’s Roman Pavlyuchenko last Saturday. Newly signed Connor Sammon is pushing for a first start after three substitute appearances, while Mohamed Diame will hope to regain a midfield place.

As survival in the Premier League is of paramount importance to Wigan Athletic, we could be in for a hard fought encounter and maybe even an upset at the Stamford Bridge as opposed to the one-sided encounter that usually transpires whenever these sides meet, with the Latics coming out all guns blazing with nothing but survival on their minds. However, what is certain is that Chelsea must win in style if they are to continue nursing their dreams of silverware.

Edited by Zico