STATS: Caldwell’s interceptions for Wigan vs Milner’s hard work for Manchester City
Wigan Athletic vs. Manchester City (20:00)
Jordi Gomez was the hat-trick hero in a dramatic win last weekend, which gave Wigan a four-point cushion to the relegation zone. Visiting champions City are yet to lose in the league this season, but visit a stadium where Wigan have scored eleven times in seven home games so far:
– Perhaps unsurprisingly, Jordi Gomez was the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index performer of the week for the last round of fixtures. With only 393 minutes to his name this season and a place in the team largely owed to Wigan’s injury problems, he’s staked a serious claim for more pitch time. 42.1 percent of his nineteen shots have been on target so far this season.
– Of all the keepers who’ve played more than 1000 minutes this season, Ali Al Habsi has been the busiest. Although he’s faced more shots on target than the likes of David de Gea and Joe Hart, just under one save every 16 minutes means the Wigan keeper is more than capable of staying on his toes against City.
– Only two Premier League players have notched up more than 100 interceptions this season, and they are both Latics- Gary Caldwell will be looking to hamper the slick passing of City’s stars on Wednesday, but Ivan Ramis is suspended.
– City have only conceded twice in their previous seven matches, the best defensive run of form in the whole league. Something will have to give on Wednesday night however, with Wigan the bottom half of the table’s best goal scoring team at home (eleven from seven games).
Manchester City couldn’t find a way past Chelsea at the weekend, but are still unbeaten and will remain confident of a title push. Only 28 percent of their goals have come away from home however, and Roberto Mancini will be aiming to improve this record by attacking at Wigan:
– Edin Dzeko holds the second best goalscoring record in the league in terms of the average time it’s taken him to strike- one every 87 minutes is far more efficient than the likes of Sergio Aguero, who has taken just over 126 minutes to score each of his five goals. Only Manchester United’s Javier Hernandez has been more efficient in front of goal.
– City remain the most prolific passing side in the league this season. Of the six players who’ve taken less than 2.5 minutes to make each of their successful passes on average, three are sky blues: Sami Nasri, David Silva and Yaya Toure.
– James Milner was the hardest worker on the pitch in City’s weekend game, covering 6.95 miles- no Chelsea player managed to run even 6.5 miles, and a repeat of Milner’s energy will be vital late on against Wigan.