Wigan will hope that a change of playing surface brings with it a change of fortunes when top-four chasing Liverpool visit the DW Stadium and some newly-laid turf on Monday night.
Wigan were forced to act after seeing their pitch begin to resemble a quagmire that inhibited their passing game. With Rafael Benitez sarcastically claiming Barcelona would be envious of Blackburn's style in a stormy clash between the two sides recently, the Liverpool boss will no doubt welcome the chance to challenge his fellow Spaniard, Roberto Martinez, to a contest of artistic impression on a surface fit for purpose.
Indeed, Martinez is beginning to resemble Tony Mowbray in his unyielding approach to the beautiful game. West Brom, of course, were relegated when sticking to their aesthetic principles last season and Wigan are on a downwards trajectory themselves, having won only one league game since November.
Whether consciously or not, Liverpool's own predicament has resulted in Benitez's team abandoning any such aspirations of silky football and as the battle for fourth has become ever more intense, their football has become more pragmatic. The return of Fernando Torres could correct that trend, however.
Wigan player in focus: James McCarthy. The young midfielder made his international debut for Republic of Ireland against Brazil last week and is beginning to blossom into the talent that so many anticipated. Indeed, McCarthy actually turned down a £1 million move to Liverpool when impressing a number of scouts as a 16-year-old at Hamilton in 2007. After starting Wigan's past eight league games, Ireland's next big hope could be the key to unlocking the visiting defence.
Liverpool player in focus: Steven Gerrard. So often Liverpool's inspiration, Gerrard is in the midst of an unusually mediocre season and has scored only eight goals in all competitions. While he failed to impress for England against Egypt on Wednesday night, Gerrard has scored in back-to-back games for Liverpool, against Unirea Urziceni and Blackburn, and will hope his mini-revival continues on Monday night.
Key Battle: Hugo Rodallega v Sotirios Kyrgiakos. The Colombian striker is arguably Wigan's most effective player and has troubled many a Premier League defender this season. He is without a goal in 12 games, but with his physical attributes remains a real threat and Wigan will focus their attacking play around his big frame. Kyrgiakos has impressed of late but if he affords Rodallega any time or space, Liverpool could be punished.
Tactics: The key tactical decision for Martinez will be whether to start with two strikers up front. That is Wigan's default setting at the DW Stadium and served them well when beating Chelsea, but a 3-0 defeat to Tottenham may see the Spaniard questioning the wisdom of such an attacking approach. Liverpool will field just one striker in Fernando Torres, with three men spread across the pitch in support. If Daniel Agger is not fit, then Jamie Carragher will move into the centre and Javier Mascherano will need to drop into right-back, meaning Gerrard will play in a withdrawn midfield role and Dirk Kuyt will play in behind Torres. If Liverpool can interrupt Wigan's passing game and get a grip on midfield, they will be well placed to exploit space on the counter-attack.
Quotes: Titus Bramble looks forward to a change of playing surface: "The old pitch was doing no one any good. It might have looked bad from the sidelines, but I promise you it was much worse to play on - absolutely terrible. The new pitch should help, and will hopefully suit our passing game."
Lucas on overcoming some early difficulties at Liverpool: "I've learned a lot more about myself and become a stronger person and player. It made me desperate to prove people wrong. There have been times when I thought I may have made the wrong decision but now I am sure that I have made the right one."
In the news: Martinez may have accused Liam Ridgewell of making a "leg-breaking challenge" on McCarthy in the club's previous Premier League outing, but the Wigan boss is pleased the Birmingham defender avoided punishment from the FA as he is no fan of retrospective action. "What you need is the punishment for the action to be handed out in the game," Martinez told the Wigan Evening Post. "It would have been ridiculous to look back at it now and punish the team by taking out one of their best players for a game against another team who could be fighting for the same aim that we are. That would make Birmingham weaker for a game against a team who might be one of our rivals, and the whole thing would make no sense to me at all."
Wigan team news: McCarthy was on the receiving end of a firm challenge from Birmingham's Ridgewell in the club's last Premier League game but was fine to feature during the international break. Martinez is therefore likely to have a fully-fit squad at his disposal.
Liverpool team news: Fernando Torres has returned to action and played 45 minutes for Spain on Wednesday, but Liverpool have renewed selection problems in defence. Glen Johnson is fit again but has not played since December due to a knee problem, while Martin Skrtel (broken toe) could miss as much as eight weeks. Fabio Aurelio is also sidelined for three weeks with a muscle problem, meaning Emiliano Insua will come back in to the side, but Benitez is hopeful Daniel Agger will overcome a knee injury to feature and Sotirios Kyrgiakos returns from suspension.
Probable Wigan team (4-4-2): Kirkland, Melchiot, Bramble, Caldwell, Figueroa, N'Zogbia, Diame, Thomas, McCarthy, Rodallega, Moreno.
Probable Liverpool team (4-2-3-1): Reina, Carragher, Agger, Kyrgiakos, Insua, Lucas, Mascherano, Kuyt, Gerrard, Benayoun, Torres.
Wigan were forced to act after seeing their pitch begin to resemble a quagmire that inhibited their passing game. With Rafael Benitez sarcastically claiming Barcelona would be envious of Blackburn's style in a stormy clash between the two sides recently, the Liverpool boss will no doubt welcome the chance to challenge his fellow Spaniard, Roberto Martinez, to a contest of artistic impression on a surface fit for purpose.
Indeed, Martinez is beginning to resemble Tony Mowbray in his unyielding approach to the beautiful game. West Brom, of course, were relegated when sticking to their aesthetic principles last season and Wigan are on a downwards trajectory themselves, having won only one league game since November.
Whether consciously or not, Liverpool's own predicament has resulted in Benitez's team abandoning any such aspirations of silky football and as the battle for fourth has become ever more intense, their football has become more pragmatic. The return of Fernando Torres could correct that trend, however.
Wigan player in focus: James McCarthy. The young midfielder made his international debut for Republic of Ireland against Brazil last week and is beginning to blossom into the talent that so many anticipated. Indeed, McCarthy actually turned down a £1 million move to Liverpool when impressing a number of scouts as a 16-year-old at Hamilton in 2007. After starting Wigan's past eight league games, Ireland's next big hope could be the key to unlocking the visiting defence.
Liverpool player in focus: Steven Gerrard. So often Liverpool's inspiration, Gerrard is in the midst of an unusually mediocre season and has scored only eight goals in all competitions. While he failed to impress for England against Egypt on Wednesday night, Gerrard has scored in back-to-back games for Liverpool, against Unirea Urziceni and Blackburn, and will hope his mini-revival continues on Monday night.
Key Battle: Hugo Rodallega v Sotirios Kyrgiakos. The Colombian striker is arguably Wigan's most effective player and has troubled many a Premier League defender this season. He is without a goal in 12 games, but with his physical attributes remains a real threat and Wigan will focus their attacking play around his big frame. Kyrgiakos has impressed of late but if he affords Rodallega any time or space, Liverpool could be punished.
Tactics: The key tactical decision for Martinez will be whether to start with two strikers up front. That is Wigan's default setting at the DW Stadium and served them well when beating Chelsea, but a 3-0 defeat to Tottenham may see the Spaniard questioning the wisdom of such an attacking approach. Liverpool will field just one striker in Fernando Torres, with three men spread across the pitch in support. If Daniel Agger is not fit, then Jamie Carragher will move into the centre and Javier Mascherano will need to drop into right-back, meaning Gerrard will play in a withdrawn midfield role and Dirk Kuyt will play in behind Torres. If Liverpool can interrupt Wigan's passing game and get a grip on midfield, they will be well placed to exploit space on the counter-attack.
Quotes: Titus Bramble looks forward to a change of playing surface: "The old pitch was doing no one any good. It might have looked bad from the sidelines, but I promise you it was much worse to play on - absolutely terrible. The new pitch should help, and will hopefully suit our passing game."
Lucas on overcoming some early difficulties at Liverpool: "I've learned a lot more about myself and become a stronger person and player. It made me desperate to prove people wrong. There have been times when I thought I may have made the wrong decision but now I am sure that I have made the right one."
In the news: Martinez may have accused Liam Ridgewell of making a "leg-breaking challenge" on McCarthy in the club's previous Premier League outing, but the Wigan boss is pleased the Birmingham defender avoided punishment from the FA as he is no fan of retrospective action. "What you need is the punishment for the action to be handed out in the game," Martinez told the Wigan Evening Post. "It would have been ridiculous to look back at it now and punish the team by taking out one of their best players for a game against another team who could be fighting for the same aim that we are. That would make Birmingham weaker for a game against a team who might be one of our rivals, and the whole thing would make no sense to me at all."
Wigan team news: McCarthy was on the receiving end of a firm challenge from Birmingham's Ridgewell in the club's last Premier League game but was fine to feature during the international break. Martinez is therefore likely to have a fully-fit squad at his disposal.
Liverpool team news: Fernando Torres has returned to action and played 45 minutes for Spain on Wednesday, but Liverpool have renewed selection problems in defence. Glen Johnson is fit again but has not played since December due to a knee problem, while Martin Skrtel (broken toe) could miss as much as eight weeks. Fabio Aurelio is also sidelined for three weeks with a muscle problem, meaning Emiliano Insua will come back in to the side, but Benitez is hopeful Daniel Agger will overcome a knee injury to feature and Sotirios Kyrgiakos returns from suspension.
Probable Wigan team (4-4-2): Kirkland, Melchiot, Bramble, Caldwell, Figueroa, N'Zogbia, Diame, Thomas, McCarthy, Rodallega, Moreno.
Probable Liverpool team (4-2-3-1): Reina, Carragher, Agger, Kyrgiakos, Insua, Lucas, Mascherano, Kuyt, Gerrard, Benayoun, Torres.
1 comment:
It's difficult to point a finger at where Liverpool have gone wrong, with so many injuries and so much going on!
Hopefully none of that gets in the way for the next game!
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