Wigan Athletic vs. Aston Villa Preview

Despite being well short of form, Aston Villa can take advantage of the perfect opportunity to get back to winning ways when they visit the DW Stadium on Saturday February 25 to face bottom club Wigan Athletic.

It is easy to see why the majority of Villa fans may be frustrated by the club’s lack of progress this season and the Villains current Premier League position of 13th suggests that they have done nothing more than tread water throughout the campaign.

But boss Alex McLeish has had a difficult job trying to preserve the club’s position in the top half of the league considering the amount of talent which has passed through the exit door at Villa Park in recent times.

A season of transition perhaps for the former European Cup winners, who have gradually slipped into mediocrity having looked like potential Champions League qualification candidates a couple of years ago.

McLeish has set his side up to be difficult to beat and aimed to utilise what has been available to him – and Villa’s ageing squad certainly look short in terms of the quality and energy which the team had under previous managers.

There should, however, be enough know how and efficiency within the Villa ranks to deal out more punishment to a Wigan side who’s incompetence can be summarised purely by their league position and miserly points tally after 24 games.

With only 16 points to their name, Wigan would undoubtedly long for the aforementioned mediocrity which befits Aston Villa and with a five point gap to bridge heading into March, the Latics look all but doomed to a tame relegation back to the Npower Championship.

In truth, a side who can only muster one home victory from twelve games probably deserves such a fate – and their record is likely to get worse rather than better based on the evidence of the season so far.

Wigan quite simply need to double that tally against Villa and nothing short of three points will do from now on against teams outside of the top seven.

But with just three defeats out of twelve games on the road, which have included six draws, Villa will once again be tough to break down and Wigan are likely to be vulnerable to conceding if they commit too many men forward.

A perfect smash and grab opportunity it seems then for Villa who can knick a win to send their supporters home smiling.

Wigan beat Bolton away on their last Premier League assignment – a good result indeed however they will require a personal best for the season if they are to record back to back victories and that form cannot really be taken too seriously considering Bolton’s own dismal effort this term.

Villa are out to prevent a third consecutive league defeat and they should be able to compensate for a recent defeat at home to Manchester City by landing a success here.

City only just scraped victory at Villa Park and McLeish’s men more than gave a good account of themselves against a much stronger side.

Villa shouldn’t be backed too often for the remainder of the campaign due to their inconsistency but this is a good opportunity for punters to steal some decent odds and the 13/8 for an away success is a gift against frail, relegation bound opposition.

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20/02/2012     © Frixo 2024