Everton V Wigan Preview

Everton take the short trip to the DW Stadium to take on Wigan Athletic on Saturday afternoon. High flying Everton continued their fine start to the season as they came form behind to defeat Southampton last weekend. Wigan have had yet anther sluggish start to the campaign having only picked up 4pts from their first 6 games, and that was compounded last weekend as they went down 1-0 to Sunderland, although they weren't helped by the officiating receiving a rather harsh red card to Jordi Gomez. The teams will be chasing the 3pts for different reasons on Saturday, for Everton, 3pts will see them remain in 2nd place, and given other results, could see them top of the league at the end of the weekend. For Wigan, they will be desperate for a win in order to stop the 4 game winless streak they are on.

Wigan old boy and Everton left back had this to say on his return to the DW

'Before the last one we got beaten by West Brom and we don`t want to go away with that feeling again. It`s the last game before the break and it`s one you want to win and then go away on a high. Wigan is always a club I'll have an affiliation for - my family feel the same way, and my brother will go and watch Wigan if they`re at home when Everton are away. My two little boys and my mum and dad will go on Saturday.'

Wigan midfielder James McArthur had this to say about his recent call up to the Scotland squad and the upcoming match saying

I`m obviously delighted to back in the Scotland squad, but the international stuff will take care of itself next week. All I`m focusing on is Saturday`s game, and making sure we get three points on the board, In the meantime, all we`re thinking of is Everton and getting our season back on track."

The good news for Wigan is that Jordi Gomez's red card he received against Sunderland has been resided by the FA and he will be free to play against Everton. Other than that, it should be largely the same squad that faced Sunderland last weekend.

Possible Starting XI: Al Habsi, Boyce, Caldwell, Ramis, Figueroa, McCarthy, McArthur, Beausejour, Gomez, Maloney, Kone

Must admit was surprised at how cheap Wigan picked up Kone. Last season for Levante he scored an impressive 15 goals for the club and was one of the major reasons behind their impressive season last season and Martinez and Wigan shrewdly pounced on him for 3.5mil euros. From the outside looking in, must admit, this is a player I think will love the Premier League, he seems a big physical lad who loves a tussle and he will give the Everton defenders problems. Has scored twice already and will be looking to add some more goals to that tally on the weekend.

Everton should be boosted by the return of influential midfielder Darron Gibson after he missed the sides last 3 matches with a thigh strain, although whether Moyes decides to run the Irishman back into the starting XI, or whether Moyes wants to tinker with a winning line up is another question. The only other injury concern for Everton is right back Tony Hibbert who is a doubt with a calf problem

Possible Starting XI: Howard, Baines, Heitinga, Jagielka, Coleman, Neville, Osman, Pienaar, Mirallas, Fellaini, Jelavic

If I am honest, as it stands right now, it could be a host players, including the likes of Pienaar, Fellaini, Baines or Mirallas. Anyway, it was nice to see the Croatian back in action against Southampton, and he showed why he was important to this team. Jelavic bagged a brace on his return to first team action, a brace that sent his goal tally to an impressive 13 goals from 16 starts for Everton and with Wigan shipping nearly 2 goals a game and given the way Everton are playing at the moment, I am sure Jelavic will be salivating at the prospect of adding more goals to his already impressive tally. If given a chance, the Croatian has shown, he will put it into the back of the net, so it will be up to the Wigan defenders to limit his chances

1. Steven Pienaar has provided 8 assists since he joined Everton in January, the most by any Premier League player in the same period

2. Leighton Baines, a left back might I add, has created 28 chances for Everton this season, the most by any player in the League this season, to put it into perspective, the highly touted and talked about Santi Carzorla from Arsenal is 2nd on the list with 23.

3. This will be Everton's 2,500th away game in all competitions

4. Everton have averaged 21 shots on goal in their 3 away games this season, a big jump from last season where they averaged 11 shots on goal each away game

5. Should they play, it will be Jagielka's 150th game for Everton and Sylvain Distin's 50th game for the club

Many Everton fans seem confident about the 3pts on Saturday, and given the way Everton have played to start the season and considering their opponents are winless in 4, they are justified in it. However, personally, I am not as confident as my fellow blues, in the last 2 seasons, it has been a struggle for Everton, so much so, they needed late equalisers to secure a draw from the DW in the last 2 seasons. I am hoping that the new and improved Everton side can right that and put in another brilliant performance and continue their fine start. Anyway, I will be going for a cautious 2-1 win for Everton with Jelavic bagging a double and Kone scoring for the hosts. COYB!!!!!! COME ON LADS, 3PTS AND 2ND PLACE INTO THE INTERNATIONAL BREAK WILL BE ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT!!!!

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