Wigan Athletic (16th) play Aston Villa (6th) at the JJB Stadium, 9 January 2010, 3:00pm.
GAME CALLED OFF
Wigan seem to have the habit of knowing when they are outclassed and making sure the scoreline reflects it. The question is whether Aston Villa have the confidence to outclass Wigan.
Two defeats to near-rivals Arsenal (deserved) and Liverpool (not deserved) have come at the same time that Villa usually start to wane in the league – this is a critical match for them; win and they come back into the top four reckoning having proven they can overcome a double-setback. Lose and they may have to accept finishing seventh in the league.
Wigan will attack and come at them with the in-form Charles N’Zogbia which should play into the hands of the counter-attacking Villa.
Again, we believe this match to be very hard to call because of the uncertainty over Aston Villa’s resolve and the result could range from a narrow win to Wigan to a large win for Villa.
Best Bet – Not a draw.
First scorer – Ashley Young.
Worth a punt – James Milner; an assist or a goal as usual.
Prediction:
Wigan Atheltic 0 – 2 Aston Villa
