Wigan V Newcastle at The DW Stadium : Match Preview

28 April 2012 06:05
World Cup woe keeps Al Habsi on his toes

Wigan goalkeeper Ali Al Habsi has a personal reason for keeping Newcastle's sharp-shooters at bay. Al Habsi was at Coventry on Monday night to witness his fellow countrymen from Oman suffer Olympic heartbreak against Senegal. And he has no wish to endure more disappointment at the DW Stadium when Senegal internationals Papiss Cisse and Demba Ba are leading the Newcastle charge. "I will make sure to save their shots," he said. "Senegal beat us at Coventry, so I want to make sure they don't score any goals against me." Al Habsi was one of Wigan's stand-out performers in that purple patch that secured four wins in five games, with Liverpool, Manchester United and Arsenal amongst their victims. However, any notion the run would guide the Latics to safety in their annual fight to avoid relegation has been dispelled by victories for QPR, Blackburn and Bolton over the last seven days. It means Al Habsi has no time to reflect on Oman's disappointments, or even bask in the glory of three ground-breaking Wigan triumphs, as another Champions League challenger must be faced. "I was proud of the Olympic team," said the 30-year-old. "A lot of people were watching too, which is important because we need more players from Oman playing in Europe if we are going to improve. "But I have to forget about that now. "There are three big three games to the end of the season and we must maintain our performance level." Wigan did have a perfect home record against Newcastle in Premier League combat until last term, when Shola Ameobi grabbed the only goal for Alan Pardew's men. Since then, the arrival of first Ba, then Cisse has transformed the Tyneside outfit, turning them from a secure mid-table outfit into top-four contenders.

Newcastle are quite capable of finishing there on recent evidence and, in Cisse, boast a striker who has scored 11 goals in his 10 games for the Magpies. That is more than twice as many as Wigan's joint top-scorers, Jordi Gomez and Franco di Santo, who is doubtful with a calf injury. Hugo Rodallega hopes to recover from a knee problem that has kept him out for six weeks, and then increase his own paltry tally of two, both scored in January. Newcastle manager Pardew is targeting a third-place finish as he attempts to fulfil Mike Ashley's unlikely European dream. The Magpies will be looking for a seventh successive league victory, a run which has seen them climb into fourth and to within three points of Arsenal with a game in hand. While the odds remain against Pardew's men ending a remarkable campaign as the closest challengers to top two Manchester United and Manchester City - they still have to go to Chelsea and face Roberto Mancini's team on Tyneside - they remain genuine candidates for Champions League qualification. That was simply not on the agenda at the beginning of the season, and while they could yet finish fourth and miss out should Chelsea win next month's Champions League final, the manager is aiming as high as he possibly can with the full back of owner Ashley. Pardew said: "Mike is very determined that we push as hard as we can for the Champions League, and we are going to try to do that for him because he has been very supportive to us this year. "We're just trying to win every game. We know we have got a difficult run - on paper, you could say more difficult than the other contenders - but the teams have still got to beat us and we are in pretty good form. "But we have got a possibility of finishing third, so that's what we are going to try to do." Understandably, a once mutinous Toon Army is revelling in the club's return to prominence after a disastrous decline, but impressive subsequent rise under the controversial Ashley's tenure. The Magpies have announced they are to unveil a new statue to former manager Sir Bobby Robson at the stadium before the end of the season, a move which has been well received by fans who have railed against an apparent fracture between the hierarchy and its customers in recent years. The repair job accomplished on the field has been founded on sound management off it, and while the decision to re-name St James' Park as the Sports Direct Arena continues to excite passions in the city, peace appears to have broken out, at least for now. Pardew has no fresh injury concerns. Midfielders Gabriel Obertan (ankle) and Sylvain Marveaux (groin) are both back in training, but neither will travel. end

Wigan V Newcastle - view commentary, squad, and statictics of the game live.

Source: PA