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Wigan v Chelsea Prediction
Saturday, 17 December 2011
Barclays Premier League
Wigan v Chelsea, 17:30
Author: Thomas Rooney 13/12/2011
Chelsea travel to Wigan this weekend looking for a comfortable victory to continue their journey back into the Premier League title race.
Andre Villas-Boas’ men secured an excellent win over league leaders Manchester City on Monday evening and although this was seen as a favour for Manchester United, it also means that Chelsea are note completely adrift of the top two.
As it stands, City are still two points clear of their Manchester rivals at the top, while Chelsea – who have now won three Premier League games in a row – are third, seven points behind City.
This may seem a significant gap still, but it would have been 13 if they had lost to City on Monday evening, so it was a massive win for their season.
It will count for a lot less if they fail to win at Wigan this weekend though. Therefore, the trip to the DW Stadium is a very significant one for the Blues as the Premier League heads into the busy Christmas fixture list.
With Manchester City playing Arsenal on Sunday afternoon, Chelsea could move to within four points of them if they come away from Wigan with the points on Saturday. Not that they need it, but this gives them extra motivation to get the job done.
Wigan need the points too though. If Chelsea have been concerned by falling further behind 1st place than they would like, then they should put themselves in Wigan’s shoes.
The Latics are 18th in the table at the moment having won only three games all season. However, they do have a habit of picking up wins when people are starting to write their survival chances off, as the win at Sunderland recently showed.
They also secured a 2-1 win at West Brom last time out, meaning they have won their last two away games, so perhaps they have started to find the winning formula they have been searching for all season?
Roberto Martinez certainly has them playing decent football and he must be praised for sticking to this in times of trouble. Whether or not they have found a significant enough winning formula to beat Chelsea though is another matter.
They have struggled at home this season with just one victory – a 2-0 win over Queens Park Rangers back in October – and they face a tough challenge to end this run against the in-form Blues.
Wigan will be concerned by conceding 12 goals in their last five home league games too. Teams appear to enjoy coming to the DW Stadium and are never afraid of going all out for the win.
This will certainly be the case for Chelsea who have found their form in front of goal of late. The Blues’ midfield is looking fresh and vibrant, while Didier Drogba has looked more like his old self leading the line.
With this in mind, Chelsea should come away with a convincing win in this 5.30pm Saturday kick-off to continue their recent burst back into the title race.
Match bet: Chelsea on the Asian Handicap -1, -1.5 @ 1.850 with Bet365 - (£200 100% deposit bonus)
Correct score prediction: Wigan 0:3 Chelsea @ 10.5 with Betfair
Watch Thomas Rooney and Pete South discuss the Wigan v Chelsea game below together with their own predictions on the match.