CityBlues
30 Nov 2007, 09:19 AM
Its that time again, Premiership Saturday action.
Man City
@
Wigan
Where: JJB Stadium
When: Saturday December 1st
1500 GMT
10:00a EST
US Tele: FSC 10a
Notes on the Match:
Wigan striker Emile Heskey is pushing for a starting spot at the JJB Stadium.
Winger Antonio Valencia sat out the defeat at Arsenal because of a knee problem but is expected to return for Steve Bruce's first match in charge.
City midfielder Geovanni could return to the starting line-up with Elano out because of a hamstring injury. Darius Vassell, Michael Johnson and Nedum Onuoha are all sidelined through injury but Vedran Corluka and Emile Mpenza have shaken off knocks.
Wigan (from): Kirkland, Melchiot, Granqvist, Bramble, Kilbane, Cotterill, Sibierski, Landzaat, Scharner, Skoko, Brown, Taylor, Bent, Heskey, Valencia, Aghahowa, Pollitt, Hall, Olembe. Man City (from): Isaksson, Hart, Corluka, Richards, Dunne, Garrido, Ireland, Fernandes, Hamann, Petrov, Geovanni, Mpenza, Ball, Jihai, Samaras, Bianchi, Etuhu, Dabo.
Wigan boss Steve Bruce on Emile Heskey's return to full fitness:
"He's going to be paramount to us. I know how big an inspiration he can be to the team. I've worked with him before. "People ridiculed me for paying all that money for him years ago but he is the best number nine of his type in the country. "It's vitally important the big players stay fit. You can't replace him. He was nearly fit at Arsenal, he's worked very hard and will be raring to go."
Man City boss Sven-Goran Eriksson:
"Heskey's a very good football player, very strong and important for them up front. Before he got injured he was having a very good season and played very well for England as well.
"It's the worst moment to meet them, it's a new manager, we don't really know how they are going to play. "And of course it's the first home game for the new manager and all the support they will have from the fans there."
Steve Bruce makes his debut as Wigan manager aiming to end the longest losing Premier League run this season of eight matches and longest winless sequence of 11 games.
Victory for Manchester City would see them leapfrogging Manchester United into second place in the table, as the Red Devils do not play Fulham at Old Trafford until Monday.
This match pits the club with the second fewest Premier League wins (Wigan, two) against the one with the second most (City, nine); Wigan have scored as many goals at home as City have netted away (five in eight in both cases).
The Latics need three more points to total 100 in their Premier League history. Wigan defend their 100% Premier League record over Manchester City. They have gained more Premier League victories against the Citizens than any other club (four), are the only club they have doubled in this league, and have scored more Premier League goals against City than any other (10).
WIGAN ATHLETIC
Club stats (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/w/wigan_athletic/club_stats/default.stm)
Fixtures (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/w/wigan_athletic/fixtures/default.stm)
Highest realistically achievable after Saturday's matches: 17th
Lowest could fall: 20th
1. Steve Bruce has returned to the club where he spent 55 days and eight games in charge at the end of the 2000-01 season, leading them into the third tier play-offs before leaving for Crystal Palace.
2. Battling to avoid a ninth league defeat since drawing 1-1, at home to Fulham on 15 September.
3. Picked up two points from a possible 33 since beating Sunderland 3-0, home to 18 August.
4. One of two clubs with double figures in the Premier League's "lost" column; the only club below them, Derby, have also lost 10 games.
5. Dropped 34 points; only Derby have dropped more (36).
6. Conceded more Premier League goals in the last 10 minutes than any other club (nine).
7. Fallen behind in 10 Premier League games and gone on to lose nine of them. The exception was the 1-1 home draw with Fulham on 15 September, when the came back from a goal down.
8. One of five clubs holding a 100% record when a clean sheet has been kept in the highest league; won both, home to Middlesbrough (1-0) and Sunderland (3-0) on 15 and 18 August respectively.
9. Failed to score in six of the last seven league games, including the last three. They have completed 301 minutes (five hours one minute) since Marcus Bent scored the second of his two goals in the 3-2 away defeat to Birmingham on 27 October.
10. This is the first of three successive north-west derbies in the Premier League; a visit to Bolton and a home fixture with Blackburn follows this, before the pre-Christmas match at Fulham. MANCHESTER CITY
Club stats (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/m/man_city/club_stats/default.stm)
Fixtures (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/m/man_city/fixtures/default.stm)
Highest achievable after Saturday's matches: 2nd
Lowest could fall: 6th
1. Undefeated in four league and cup games, and lost one of the last 11 in all competitions.
2. Lost one of nine Premier League matches; 6-0, away to Chelsea on 27 October.
3. Won nine of 14 league games under Sven-Goran Eriksson.
4. Hold the best record in Premier League matches in which they have opened the scoring. Won all eight games in which they have scored first. Portsmouth is the only other club to hold a 100% in this regard (won six of six).
5. Unbeaten against lower half clubs; won six and drawn one of seven games against clubs currently in the bottom 10. Wigan are yet to beat a top half club; drawing one and losing six against clubs currently in the top 10.
6. Kept clean sheets in three of the last five league matches.
7. Without an away league victory in five; drawn two and lost three on the road since beating West Ham 0-2 at Upton Park in their opening fixture of the season on 11 August.
8. Failed to score in four of the last five away league games and netted three goals in the other match; the 3-3 draw at Fulham on 22 September. 9. Four fixtures are scheduled before Christmas; away to Tottenham, home to Bolton, home to Tottenham in the Carling Cup quarter-final, and away to Aston Villa.
KEY PLAYER NOTES
WIGAN ATHLETIC
Antoine SIBIERSKI and Marcus BENT are Wigan's joint leading scorers with three Premier League goals each.
If selected:-
SIBIERSKI will be facing a former club. The 33 year old French midfielder made 107 appearances (92 in the league) and scored 15 goals (11 league) in three years for Manchester City from August 2003.
Mario MELCHIOT will be making his 200th English league appearance (Chelsea, Birmingham and Wigan).
David COTTERILL will be playing three days before his 20th birthday.
Carlo NASH will be keeping goal against former colleagues. The 34 year old reserve keeper made 41 appearances (38 in the league) for Manchester City between January 2001 and August 2003.
Suspended:-
Michael BROWN (one match) MANCHESTER CITY
ELANO is Manchester City's leading scorer with five goals.
ELANO and Michael PETROV are the club's joint top Premier League marksmen with four goals each.
If selected:-
Nedum ONUOHA will be making his 50th Premier League appearance - all for Manchester City.
If on the field from the outset:-
Stephen IRELAND will be making a 50th start in a Manchester City shirt.
HEAD TO HEAD
Wigan have scored four times in each of their two home Premier League meetings with Manchester City.
The Citizens have failed to score in their last four meetings with Wigan; three in the Premier League and one in the FA Cup. Home and away
League (inc PL): Wigan 4 wins, Man City 3, Draws 1
Prem: Wigan 4 wins, Man City 0, Draws 0
at Wigan only
League (inc PL): Wigan 2 wins, Man City 1, Draws 1
Prem: Wigan 2 wins, Man City 0, Draws 0
LAST SEASON'S CORRESPONDING GAME
Wigan Athletic 4-0 Manchester City
21 October 2006 - Ref: Phil Dowd
Wigan scorers: Heskey 2, Dunne 4 og, Camara 65, Valencia 67
REFEREE
Mike Riley (Leeds, Yorkshire) Premier League referees' table (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/eng_prem/4145246.stm)
Mike Riley's 2007-08 Premier League card count (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/eng_prem/4145802.stm)
Man City
@
Wigan
Where: JJB Stadium
When: Saturday December 1st
1500 GMT
10:00a EST
US Tele: FSC 10a
Notes on the Match:
Wigan striker Emile Heskey is pushing for a starting spot at the JJB Stadium.
Winger Antonio Valencia sat out the defeat at Arsenal because of a knee problem but is expected to return for Steve Bruce's first match in charge.
City midfielder Geovanni could return to the starting line-up with Elano out because of a hamstring injury. Darius Vassell, Michael Johnson and Nedum Onuoha are all sidelined through injury but Vedran Corluka and Emile Mpenza have shaken off knocks.
Wigan (from): Kirkland, Melchiot, Granqvist, Bramble, Kilbane, Cotterill, Sibierski, Landzaat, Scharner, Skoko, Brown, Taylor, Bent, Heskey, Valencia, Aghahowa, Pollitt, Hall, Olembe. Man City (from): Isaksson, Hart, Corluka, Richards, Dunne, Garrido, Ireland, Fernandes, Hamann, Petrov, Geovanni, Mpenza, Ball, Jihai, Samaras, Bianchi, Etuhu, Dabo.
Wigan boss Steve Bruce on Emile Heskey's return to full fitness:
"He's going to be paramount to us. I know how big an inspiration he can be to the team. I've worked with him before. "People ridiculed me for paying all that money for him years ago but he is the best number nine of his type in the country. "It's vitally important the big players stay fit. You can't replace him. He was nearly fit at Arsenal, he's worked very hard and will be raring to go."
Man City boss Sven-Goran Eriksson:
"Heskey's a very good football player, very strong and important for them up front. Before he got injured he was having a very good season and played very well for England as well.
"It's the worst moment to meet them, it's a new manager, we don't really know how they are going to play. "And of course it's the first home game for the new manager and all the support they will have from the fans there."
Steve Bruce makes his debut as Wigan manager aiming to end the longest losing Premier League run this season of eight matches and longest winless sequence of 11 games.
Victory for Manchester City would see them leapfrogging Manchester United into second place in the table, as the Red Devils do not play Fulham at Old Trafford until Monday.
This match pits the club with the second fewest Premier League wins (Wigan, two) against the one with the second most (City, nine); Wigan have scored as many goals at home as City have netted away (five in eight in both cases).
The Latics need three more points to total 100 in their Premier League history. Wigan defend their 100% Premier League record over Manchester City. They have gained more Premier League victories against the Citizens than any other club (four), are the only club they have doubled in this league, and have scored more Premier League goals against City than any other (10).
WIGAN ATHLETIC
Club stats (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/w/wigan_athletic/club_stats/default.stm)
Fixtures (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/w/wigan_athletic/fixtures/default.stm)
Highest realistically achievable after Saturday's matches: 17th
Lowest could fall: 20th
1. Steve Bruce has returned to the club where he spent 55 days and eight games in charge at the end of the 2000-01 season, leading them into the third tier play-offs before leaving for Crystal Palace.
2. Battling to avoid a ninth league defeat since drawing 1-1, at home to Fulham on 15 September.
3. Picked up two points from a possible 33 since beating Sunderland 3-0, home to 18 August.
4. One of two clubs with double figures in the Premier League's "lost" column; the only club below them, Derby, have also lost 10 games.
5. Dropped 34 points; only Derby have dropped more (36).
6. Conceded more Premier League goals in the last 10 minutes than any other club (nine).
7. Fallen behind in 10 Premier League games and gone on to lose nine of them. The exception was the 1-1 home draw with Fulham on 15 September, when the came back from a goal down.
8. One of five clubs holding a 100% record when a clean sheet has been kept in the highest league; won both, home to Middlesbrough (1-0) and Sunderland (3-0) on 15 and 18 August respectively.
9. Failed to score in six of the last seven league games, including the last three. They have completed 301 minutes (five hours one minute) since Marcus Bent scored the second of his two goals in the 3-2 away defeat to Birmingham on 27 October.
10. This is the first of three successive north-west derbies in the Premier League; a visit to Bolton and a home fixture with Blackburn follows this, before the pre-Christmas match at Fulham. MANCHESTER CITY
Club stats (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/m/man_city/club_stats/default.stm)
Fixtures (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/m/man_city/fixtures/default.stm)
Highest achievable after Saturday's matches: 2nd
Lowest could fall: 6th
1. Undefeated in four league and cup games, and lost one of the last 11 in all competitions.
2. Lost one of nine Premier League matches; 6-0, away to Chelsea on 27 October.
3. Won nine of 14 league games under Sven-Goran Eriksson.
4. Hold the best record in Premier League matches in which they have opened the scoring. Won all eight games in which they have scored first. Portsmouth is the only other club to hold a 100% in this regard (won six of six).
5. Unbeaten against lower half clubs; won six and drawn one of seven games against clubs currently in the bottom 10. Wigan are yet to beat a top half club; drawing one and losing six against clubs currently in the top 10.
6. Kept clean sheets in three of the last five league matches.
7. Without an away league victory in five; drawn two and lost three on the road since beating West Ham 0-2 at Upton Park in their opening fixture of the season on 11 August.
8. Failed to score in four of the last five away league games and netted three goals in the other match; the 3-3 draw at Fulham on 22 September. 9. Four fixtures are scheduled before Christmas; away to Tottenham, home to Bolton, home to Tottenham in the Carling Cup quarter-final, and away to Aston Villa.
KEY PLAYER NOTES
WIGAN ATHLETIC
Antoine SIBIERSKI and Marcus BENT are Wigan's joint leading scorers with three Premier League goals each.
If selected:-
SIBIERSKI will be facing a former club. The 33 year old French midfielder made 107 appearances (92 in the league) and scored 15 goals (11 league) in three years for Manchester City from August 2003.
Mario MELCHIOT will be making his 200th English league appearance (Chelsea, Birmingham and Wigan).
David COTTERILL will be playing three days before his 20th birthday.
Carlo NASH will be keeping goal against former colleagues. The 34 year old reserve keeper made 41 appearances (38 in the league) for Manchester City between January 2001 and August 2003.
Suspended:-
Michael BROWN (one match) MANCHESTER CITY
ELANO is Manchester City's leading scorer with five goals.
ELANO and Michael PETROV are the club's joint top Premier League marksmen with four goals each.
If selected:-
Nedum ONUOHA will be making his 50th Premier League appearance - all for Manchester City.
If on the field from the outset:-
Stephen IRELAND will be making a 50th start in a Manchester City shirt.
HEAD TO HEAD
Wigan have scored four times in each of their two home Premier League meetings with Manchester City.
The Citizens have failed to score in their last four meetings with Wigan; three in the Premier League and one in the FA Cup. Home and away
League (inc PL): Wigan 4 wins, Man City 3, Draws 1
Prem: Wigan 4 wins, Man City 0, Draws 0
at Wigan only
League (inc PL): Wigan 2 wins, Man City 1, Draws 1
Prem: Wigan 2 wins, Man City 0, Draws 0
LAST SEASON'S CORRESPONDING GAME
Wigan Athletic 4-0 Manchester City
21 October 2006 - Ref: Phil Dowd
Wigan scorers: Heskey 2, Dunne 4 og, Camara 65, Valencia 67
REFEREE
Mike Riley (Leeds, Yorkshire) Premier League referees' table (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/eng_prem/4145246.stm)
Mike Riley's 2007-08 Premier League card count (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/eng_prem/4145802.stm)