Arsenal v Wigan Premier League Preview: Can The Gunners End The Latics 5-Game Unbeaten Run?

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Arsenal play, Steve Bruce’s Wigan Athletic in the Premier League at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday.

Arsene Wenger’s Gunners side will go into this clash with Wigan full of confidence after a morale boosting win at Stamford Bridge last Sunday, with Arsenal coming from behind to win 2-1 against Chelsea. This will have brought some relief to Wenger, with Arsenal losing their two previous matches to Aston Villa at the Emirates and then were soundly beaten 3-0 by Manchester City at the Eastlands Stadium before their win against the Blues. Arsenal, are 4th in the Premiership and will expect to take all three points against Wigan on Saturday.

The Latics will also be full of confidence for the trip South to Arsenal, with Wigan unbeaten in five games and go into this match with the Gunners on the back of two straight wins at the JJB Stadium against Everton and West Bromwich Albion. Wigan are 11th in the table and Bruce will hope that the Latics can keep their good run going against an Arsenal team that has struggled at times this season against less fancied opposition.

Arsenal will be without long-term injured Tomas Rosicky (hamstring), Eduardo (broken leg) and England International Theo Walcott (shoulder) for the visit of the Latics. However, Wenger could have William Gallas (calf), Johan Djourou (thigh), Abou Diaby (abdominal strain), Kolo Toure (calf) and Emmanuel Eboue (knee), who are all struggling to be fit for Saturday’s game. Robin van Persie, who scored both goals against Chelsea, is likely to start, with Emmanuel Adebayor his probable strike-partner for Arsenal.

Bruce has a full squad to choose from for the trip to the Emirates, with the only doubt being top-scorer for the Latics Amr Zaki, who is fighting to shake off a calf strain in time to take to the field against Arsenal.

Arsenal: (from) Almunia, Gallas, Toure, Eboue, Djourou, Clichy, Sagna, Nasri, Fabregas, Denilson, Van Persie, Adebayor, Bendtner, Fanianski, Silvestre, Song, Diaby, Vela, Ramsey, Wilshere, Mannone, Bischoff, Coquelin, Fonte, Gibbs, Hoyte, Lansbury, Merida, Nordtveit, Randall, Rodgers, Simpson

Wigan Athletic: (from) Kirkland, Melchiot, Bramble, Figueroa, Scharner, Taylor, Edman, Cattermole, Palacios, Kilbane, Heskey, Koumas, Brown, Pollitt, Zaki, Valencia, Boyce, de Ridder, Cywka, Kingson, Kapo, Camara, Kupisz, Routledge, Ashworth

Wigan v West Brom Premiership Preview: Zaki Out For Latics As Baggies Look To End 7-Game Winless Streak

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Wigan Athletic, play Tony Mowbray’s West Bromwich Albion in the Premier League at the JJB Stadium on Saturday.

Steve Bruce’s Latics side will be boosted by their 1-0 win over Everton at the JJB on Monday, with Wigan unbeaten during November after losing all their Premier League matches in October. Wigan will go into this clash with West Brom full of confidence as the Latics are on a four-game unbeaten streak, but are still just two points outside the relegation zone in 15th place in the Premiership.

The Baggies on the other hand are desperate for some points, with West Brom without a win in the last seven games, which has seen them collect just 1 point from the last 21 available. This poor run has seen the Midlands club slip to the bottom of the Premier League, where West Brom are two points adrift of their nearest rivals Blackburn Rovers, who that point came against at the Hawthorns at the beginning of November.

Wigan will be without their top-scorer this season Egyptian International Amr Zaki, who will miss the visit of the Baggies with a virus. The Latics are also unable to call on captain Mario Melchiot (calf), but long-term injury Erik Edman could be available for Wigan after a knee injury, although it is unlikely that Bruce will risk the former Tottenham Hotspur defender against West Brom.

Mowbray will be without long-term injured Neil Clement (knee), with James Morrison facing a late fitness test on his knee injury ahead of the trip to the JJB Stadium in this must win game for West Brom.

Wigan Athletic: (from) Kirkland, Taylor, Edman, Cattermole, Palacios, Scharner, Kilbane, Heskey, Koumas, Brown, Pollitt, Valencia, Boyce, de Ridder, Bramble, Cywka, Kingson, Kapo, Camara, Kupisz, Figueroa, Routledge, Ashworth

West Bromwich Albion: (from) Carson, Hoefkens, Robinson, Cech, Corbett, Koren, Greening, Bednar, Miller, Brunt, Kim, MacDonald, Moore, Dorrans, Pele, Kiely, Teixeira, Slusarski, Zuiverloon, Meite, Olsson, Morrison, Valero, Donk

Tottenham Plan £25million Ligue 1 Double Swoop?

New Tottenham Hotspur manager Harry Redknapp has already been linked with a string of strikers in the January transfer window since taken over from Juande Ramos at White Hart Lane last Sunday, with Spurs now being linked with Ligue 1 pair, Fernando Cavenaghi at Bordeaux and Jimmy Briand, who plays for Rennes, according to Mercato 365.

Redknapp is almost certain to add more firepower to the Tottenham front line in January, with summer signing Roman Pavlyuchenko and England International Darren Bent the only two experienced forwards at the North London club.

Although Spurs have been linked with Everton’s Yakubu and Wigan Athletic’s Egyptian sensation Amr Zaki along with his Latics strike-partner Emile Heskey at home in the Premier League, Tottenham are now believed to be tracking Cavenaghi and Briand in the French top-flight.

Cavenaghi is a former team-mate of Pavlyuchenko, having played with the Russian International at Spartak Moscow and is valued by the French side at around £15million, with the 25-year-old Argentine International scoring 23 goals in 44 league matches for Bordeaux and is exactly the type of out-and-out goal-scorer that Redknapp is looking for at White Hart Lane.

Meanwhile, 23-year-old Briand has drawn comparisons in his style of play to former Arsenal striker Thierry Henry, with the Frenchman reportedly a target for Redknapp when he was in charge of Portsmouth. The Gunners were also said to be interested in Briand after his breakthrough season for Rennes in 2006-2007. However, despite the comparisons with Barcelona’s Henry, Briand is less prolific and plays as a second striker, where he can create for others as well as score.

Briand would cost Tottenham in the region of £10million, with the striker unsettled at the Route de Lorient after a summer tug-of-war with Ligue 1 rivals Paris St Germain, which resulted in Briand staying with Rennes, despite wanting to leave.