Wigan V Stoke at The DW Stadium : Match Preview

Martinez: Latics have new self-belief Wigan boss Roberto Martinez believes his relegation-threatened team has been reinvigorated by last week's "historic" win over Liverpool. Latics boosted their Barclays Premier League survival chances by pulling off a shock 2-1 victory at Anfield - a result some have claimed is the club's greatest ever. Martinez's side remain in the bottom three but are just a point off the safety zone after finally earning what they believe is deserved reward for their recent endeavours. Wigan had dominated their previous two games against Norwich and West Brom but were forced to settle for 1-1 draws on both occasions. Martinez said: "It was a real lift. In football the hardest thing to take is playing well and not getting the result, and that is the feeling we had against West Brom. "That really sets you back a bit but the reaction was very good on the pitch and to get that result gives you back the confidence and the belief. "It just prepares you in a really good way in all the aspects you cannot prepare on the training ground. That is the biggest feeling. "It was a historic win but now is not the time to look back - we can't afford to do that. We have to look forward to Saturday. "At the end of the season we will have time to look back at the big moments of the season and quite clearly that was one of them." Wigan will hope to continue their recent good run, which has seen them lose just once in their last seven games, as they host Stoke at the DW Stadium tomorrow. The fixture may evoke memories of Wigan's dramatic final-day heroics last season, when they won at the Britannia Stadium to survive in the top flight, but Martinez is detaching himself from that emotion. Martinez said: "Our games against Stoke are always really close, they go down to small margins. "We have got a feelgood factor from last season, but that was at the Britannia and was a completely different game. "They are a good team who are going to be full of confidence and they are going to come here and try to impose themselves. Forward Victor Moses was due to be assessed with Martinez hopeful he will be fit to feature. Moses was kicked in the head by Liverpool defender Martin Skrtel last weekend but has not suffered a fractured jaw, as first feared. Despite the uncertainty over their position, Latics have been further lifted by news that midfielder Jordi Gomez has signed a new two-year contract. Stoke boss Tony Pulis will be looking to overcome what has been something of a bogey side for his team in recent years. Pulis' men have made great strides since their promotion to the top flight in 2008, but in seven Barclays Premier League meetings with the Latics so far, they have won just once. A 1-0 home defeat to Wigan on the final day of last season deprived the Staffordshire outfit of a place in the top 10 and memories of that game have stayed with the Welshman. "Wigan have been one of those teams for us," Pulis said. "I don't know why - we have played really well against them and not got the results I think our performances have deserved. "Last year in the final game of the season, the game should have been over in the first half as we created so many opportunities, and we also had a stonewall penalty (claim that was not given). "The referee was five yards away from it - I only looked at it once from the touchline and knew it was a penalty, and then to see the replay was really disappointing when he was so close. "But we didn't get it, and they had a spell, scored and ended up winning the game. "The most important thing for us is that the players realise that irrespective of our position in the league, or what we have done or haven't done, you have to turn up and give it your best." Stoke, currently 12th in the table, may well fancy their chances of improving their record against struggling Wigan, 19th, given the Potters have held big guns Manchester City and Tottenham to 1-1 draws in their last two games.

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

Source: PA

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