Follow every kick as Wigan Athletic take on Blackburn Rovers at The JJB Stadium in the Premier League
on 26-Dec-2009, kick off time 15:00
Wigan Athletic v Blackburn Rovers Live
Match Preview
Wigan Athletic entertain north west rivals Blackburn Rovers on Boxing Day in what should be a cracking local derby clash. Roberto Martinez will be hoping his Latics outfit can get a win to aid their fight against the drop as they sit just two points ahead of Bolton Wanderers in the third relegation spot. They haven't won in their last three outings, which is cause for concern, but their festive opponents are currently on a worse run of form.
Sam Allardyce, who is back in the dugout following heart surgery, will be keen to see his beleaguered troops clamber back up the league table. They are just a point ahead of Wigan and since their excellent 2-0 away victory against Bolton on November 22 they have collected just three draws from their last six games to leave them in a precarious position in the lead up to the new year.
To make matters that bit worse, Rovers have scored just once in this time and this was courtesy of defender Ryan Nelsen's effort against Birmingham in a 2-1 defeat on December 15. Rovers have collected just four points from a possible 27 away from Ewood Park this term and Wigan will be looking to capitalise on their poor return. It is all set up for a tense yet explosive match-up between the outfits, who are separated by just 25 miles. Rovers duo Pascal Chimbonda and Jason Roberts will be wanting to feature and heap misery on the Latics, who they have both featured for in the past. Mohamed Diame is out of Wigan's Christmas and New Year campaign after injuring knee ligaments in the recent defeat against Liverpool while Blackburn midfielder Brett Emerton is nursing a groin injury and colleague David Dunn is still troubled by a calf concern.
Blackburn will be hoping to avoid a repeat performance that they served up last term at the DW Stadium. They lost 3-0 in a game that was lost inside a disastrous opening 12 minutes. Antonio Valencia teed up Emile Heskey to open the scoring before Valencia got in on the act himself. Lee Cattermole added Wigan's third late in the day to round off the win.
Source: DSG
