Saturday’s last-gasp own goal from Emmerson Boyce leaves Wigan toiling in their annual battle to beat the drop. With Reading and QPR already relegated, Roberto Martinez’s men face a tough task to keep their heads above water and currently sit two points from safety with four games left of the season.
The Prospects
Looking at the schedules of all six sides presented with doubles, the Latics certainly seem to have the most favourable and are resultantly attracting extra interest. First up is a trip to West Brom on Saturday afternoon and bearing in mind the Baggies last kept a home clean sheet in Gameweek 17, Wigan will be confident of breaching Steve Clarke’s backline and rectifying a record of one goal in their last three road trips. Clarke’s decision to move to a front three last weekend saw Southampton swept aside at St Mary’s and will be something of a concern for Wigan’s defence – with Antolin Alcaraz out and Maynor Figueroa almost certainly sidelined, the Latics are likely to roll up to the Hawthorns with only one of their first-choice defenders in place.
Martinez’s side then entertain Swansea at the DW the following Tuesday evening in their penultimate home match of the season. Having dropped just two points from the last three in front of their own fans, confidence in Wigan will be high heading into this one – they’ve scored five times and registered a clean sheet across that trio of fixtures. Swansea have scored just three times in their last seven away fixtures and have conceded 11 goals (5,2,2,2) in their previous four road trips – encouraging signs for the hosts at both ends of the pitch, then.
The Likely Lads
The loss of Alcaraz, in particular, is a bitter blow to Wigan’s defensive potential – they had conceded just three goals in his four full appearances before limping off injured early on in the Gameweek 34 loss at West Ham. Nevertheless, at just 4.0 in Fantasy Premier League, Joel Robles is the cheapest keeper with a double on his agenda and is also kinder on the budget than any of his Wigan defensive team mates.
Typically utilised on the right of Martinez’s midfield, Emmerson Boyce atoned for his own goal against Tottenham with a goal and maximum bonus points. His out of position prospects were somewhat dented at the weekend, though, after a shift from 3-4-3 to 4-3-3 saw him fielded as a right-back – listed as a defender in FPL and now costing 4.7, he offers the greatest attacking potential from the back and has already notched three times this term.
Shaun Maloney is another cut-price prospect who benefits from an out of position classification. Fielded on the left of the Latics’ front three yet listed as a midfielder in FPL, the little Scot has a share of set-pieces to boost his appeal and, having provided an assist against Tottenham last Saturday, has had a hand in two of Wigan’s last three goals. While the threat of rest and rotation could potentially blight the Chelsea and City midfields, Maloney is nailed-on for the Latics and at 5.2 in FPL, has already attracted over 10,000 new owners this week.
Arouna Kone has somewhat stuttered in recent weeks but there’s no denying his importance to the Latics’ cause. The Ivorian has scored 10 goals this term – twice the tally of any team mate – and despite failing to produce any attacking returns in the last four Gameweeks, he remains the most popular Wigan target heading into the double, with almost 12,000 FPL managers snapping him up already.
Cheeky Punt
His main contribution to the season so far has been “that” tackle on Newcastle’s Massadio Haidara but Callum McManaman is starting to produce for the Latics in recent matches. Along with Maloney, he grabbed a goal to secure Wigan’s place in the FA Cup final courtesy of a 2-0 win over Millwall in the semis earlier this month and, having started five of the last six league games on the right of the front three, has supplied a goal and assist. At 4.5, he’s a real budget option for our three man frontlines.
Ronnie Stam could be set to benefit from Figueroa’s likely absence. The Dutchman, who comes in at just 3.8 in FPL, climbed off the bench to replace the Honduran against Spurs in a defensive reshuffle that saw Boyce move into a more central berth at the back. If Martinez rolls a back three for the upcoming pair of fixtures, Stam may well be handed the role on the right of midfield, with Boyce employed as part of the back-three instead.
