Wigan Athletic v West Ham United
Barclays Premier League
DW Stadium
Saturday 12 September 2009
3pm
Referee: Alan Wiley
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Introduction
• West Ham United travel to Wigan Athletic looking for a third unbeaten game away from home this season against a Wigan side that have yet to pick up a point at their renamed DW Stadium in the 2009/10 campaign. The match comes a day after the first-year anniversary of Gianfranco Zola's unveiling at the Boleyn Ground.
• The Hammers sit in eleventh place of the fledgling Barclays Premier League standings with four points from three matches, while Wigan are a point adrift in 17th spot - although the Latics have played a game more than their visitors from London
• Wigan are the only club that West Ham have faced in each of the last six seasons, as they were also in the Championship in 2003/04 and 2004/05 before gaining promotion to the top-flight in May 2005.
• This is the 13th league meeting between the two sides. West Ham have won six, Wigan have won four and there have been two draws.
• There has never been a goalless draw between the clubs.
• The Hammers have lost on only one of their six visits to the former JJB Stadium - a 1-0 reverse on 2 February 2008 courtesy of Kevin Kilbane's first-half header. West Ham have won four and drawn one of the five other trips they have made to Wigan.
• The last visit on 4 March 2008 was notable for Carlton Cole scoring the club's goal of the season on 34 minutes in a 1-0 victory. The stunning strike was followed by a sending-off for the match-winner three minutes later after a seemingly harsh second yellow from referee Stuart Attwell. Lee Cattermole was dismissed for Wigan seven minutes after half-time.
The lineups were:
Wigan Athletic: Kirkland, Melchiot, Boyce, Bramble (Watson 78), Figueroa, Valencia, Brown (Scharner 64), Cattermole, 'Zogbia, Mido, Zaki, (Rodallega 64)
Subs not used: Pollitt, Edman, Sibierski, Kapo
West Ham United: Green, Neill, Tomkins, Upson, Ilunga, Collison (Spector 78), Noble, Parker (Lopez 88), Kovac, Di Michele (Savio 75), Cole
Subs not used: Lastuvka, Sears, Payne, Stanislas
West Ham United
• West Ham United will look to make it three unbeaten away games in a row this season with the trip to face Wigan Athletic on Saturday. A fortnight ago, the Hammers drew 0-0 at Blackburn Rovers, having previously won 2-0 at Wolverhampton Wanderers on opening day.
• Gianfranco Zola's side have had two home games this season. They lost 2-1 at home to Tottenham Hotspur on 23 August - with Carlton Cole putting the Hammers in front - before needing extra time two days later to see off Millwall 3-1 in the Carling Cup second round. The Lions were defeated thanks to two goals from Junior Stanislas and a decisive third from Zavon Hines.
• West Ham United did their second Premier League 'double' of the season against Wigan Athletic in 2008/09. They won 3-1 at the Boleyn Ground on the opening day of the season and then won 1-0 on 4 March. Fulham were the other team to lose home and away to the Hammers.
• West Ham United's biggest away win at Wigan came in the shape of a 3-0 Premier League success at the JJB Stadium on 28 April 2007. The Hammers' goals that day came courtesy of Luis Boa Morte, Yossi Benayoun and Marlon Harewood.
• Robert Green has yet to concede a goal away from home this season. The last time he was beaten on his travels with West Ham was in the 76th minute of the 3-1 defeat at Everton on 16 May 2009. That means he has gone 194 minutes without conceding on the road.
• Green has played 91 consecutive Barclays Premier League games - more than any other player in the top-flight currently. All being well, he will reach his unbroken century away to Hull City on Saturday 21 November.
• Three players, Mark Noble, Matthew Upson and Carlton Cole have got on the league scoresheet for the Hammers so far this season.
• Speaking about his opposite number Roberto Martinez, Gianfranco Zola said: "He's not got an easy task, because I believe the team is playing differently from how they used to, so he'll have to be patient in imposing his ideas. But he's a good manager and he's done exceptionally well last year in Swansea. I'm sure he will get his team playing his own way - hopefully not tomorrow but in the next few weeks! He is a good manager and he will do well."
• The Hammers finished last season in ninth in the Barclays Premier League with 51 points, a place and two points higher than they managed in the previous season.
• Carlton Cole was West Ham's leading scorer last season with ten Premier League goals, one in the FA Cup and one in the League Cup.
• The Hammers sit on 700 Premier League points, with the draw at Ewood Park last time out taking them to that milestone.
• Should any of new recruits Alessandro Diamanti, Fabio Daprela, Davide Ferrari and Manuel Da Costa figure, they will become the 800th player to represent West Ham.
• West Ham have a Carling Cup third-round tie to look forward with a trip back to the north-west on Tuesday 22 September to take on Bolton Wanderers.
Last time out
West Ham United
Barclays Premier League, Saturday 29 August 2009
Blackburn Rovers 0-0 West Ham United
West Ham United: Green, Faubert, Upson, Collins, Spector, Parker, Noble, Jimenez (Dyer 67), Collison (Kovac 87), Stanislas, Cole
Subs not used: Kurucz, Gabbidon, Tomkins, Hines, Nouble
Wigan Athletic
• Wigan's last home win came on Sunday 24 May - the final day of last season - and a 1-0 home success against Portsmouth thanks to Hugo Rodallega's goal.
• Wigan have had ten different players shown a yellow card in all competitions this season. No player has been cautioned twice.
• Wigan Athletic have lost both their home matches in the Barclays Premier League this season as part of a four-game losing streak in league and cup. They lost 1-0 at home to Wolves on 18 August before succumbing 5-0 to visitors Manchester United four days later. However, they did start the season with a 2-0 success at Aston Villa.
• They were eliminated in the Carling Cup second round with a surprise 4-1 reverse at Blackpool and then lost 2-1 at Everton in their last top-flight outing on 30 August, when Paul Scharner had put them in front.
• .Roberto Martinez said: "I've been very impressed with West Ham and I think they now have a very successful formula on the pitch. There is a mixture of experienced and young players at the club, and they have a very attacking and brave style of play. So the game on Saturday is going to be an open affair and exciting to watch, and I'm looking forward to see how we approach it."
• Wigan's largest-ever home win over West Ham was also the Latics' only victory over the Hammers on home turf. Kevin Kilbane netted the only goal of the game in a 1-0 success, heading past Robert Green in added-time at the end of the first half, on 2 February 2008.
Last time out
Barclays Premier League, Sunday 30 August 2009
Everton 2-1 Wigan Athletic
Wigan Athletic: Pollitt, Bramble, Scharner, Melchiot, Boyce, Figueroa, 'Zogbia, Diame (Scotland 36), Gomez, Thomas (Cho 74), Rodallega (Sinclair 82)
Subs not used: Kingson, Edman, Koumas, King
Goal: Scharner 57
Referee
• Saturday's referee is Alan Wiley.
Old boys
• Among the players who have represented both clubs are Roy Carroll, Henri Camara and Bill Wade.
Last six meetings (Premier League unless stated)
4 March 2009 - Wigan Athletic 0-1 West Ham United
16 August 2008 - West Ham United 2-1 Wigan Athletic
2 February 2008 - Wigan Athletic 1-0 West Ham United
25 August 2007 - West Ham United 1-1 Wigan Athletic
28 April 2007 - Wigan Athletic 0-3 West Ham United
6 December 2006 - West Ham United 0-2 Wigan Athletic
Overall record v Wigan Athletic (all competitions) W 8 D 2 L 4
Team news
• Alessandro Diamanti could make his debut after a stunning bow for the reserves in midweek. On Tuesday night, the Italian forward freshly signed from AS Livorno Calcio scored a free-kick in each half of a 6-0 win against Birmingham City at the Boleyn Ground.
• West Ham have Valon Behrami fit again after he played for nearly an hour against Birmingham. The Switzerland midfielder had not figured since suffering cruciate knee ligament damage in a 1-0 home win against Manchester City on Sunday 1 March 2009.
• Robert Green, Matthew Upson and Carlton Cole all returned from England duty on a high after a 5-1 win against Croatia, that saw Green and Upson play the whole game, confirmed the nation's place at the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Last Saturday, Green again played the whole game, Upson got 65 minutes and Cole appeared for the final eleven minutes of a 2-1 success over Slovenia.
• Kieron Dyer and Luis Jimenez are being assessed for minor muscle issues.
• Jack Collison has been training after being forced out of international duty with Wales with a slight calf problem. Danny Gabbidon did play the full 90 minutes of a 3-1 defeat by Russia in Cardiff that ended any lingering World Cup dreams.
• James Tomkins and Junior Stanislas both figured for England Under-21s in the past week. Tomkins played the full game in each of the 2-1 win in FYR Macedonia and 1-1 draw in Greece, while Stanislas only took part in the first match when he set up Freddie Sears - on loan at Crystal Palace - for the Young Lions' equaliser.
• Portuguese centre-back Manuel Da Costa may take the departed James Collins' place in the squad, having arrived on 31 August from ACF Fiorentina in a deal that took Savio in the other direction. He played the full 90 minutes in midweek. Da Costa will challenge Tomkins and Gabbidon for the right to partner club captain Upson.
• Young full-backs Davide Ferrari and Fabio Daprela, 17 and 18 respectively, may travel, having also made their competitive bows for the club against Birmingham. Ferrari had only just received international clearance from Italy while Daprela had not long been back after two Under-19 friendlies with Switzerland against Georgia.
• Both Ferrari and Daprela are predominantly left-footed and may particularly get a chance to compete with Jonathan Spector for the left-back berth if Herita Ilunga fails as expected to recover. It is not thought the Congolese defender will be available after the jaw injury he suffered on Saturday 15 August at Wolves, although there is hope he will return to take on Liverpool next Saturday.
• Spector earned his 19th and 20th caps for the United States in their 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying wins against El Salvador in Utah and away to Trinidad and Tobago. He played the full 90 minutes in both matches at right-back as the US took pole position in CONCACAF qualifying for the finals in South Africa.
• Radoslav Kovac was an unused substitute for the Czech Republic in their 2-2 draw in Slovakia and 7-0 home win against San Marino that kept alive their World Cup dreams.
• Only Dean Ashton (ankle) and Luis Boa Morte (knee) are not training with the first team at Chadwell Heath. Ashton is working on a personal programme on an injury he suffered almost exactly a year ago in training - on Monday 15 September 2008 - and there is no date set for his likely return. Boa Morte is recovering from surgery and is set to stay in his native Portugal to focus on his rehabilitation until October.
• Reserve-team forward Terry Dixon has overcome his knee problems but is not yet thought to be ready to take part in matches as he has not played competitively since March 2008.
•.Wigan are trialling Cameroon midfielder Modeste M'Bami, with the 26-year-old a free agent since leaving Marseille. The club allowed Michael Brown to leave for Portsmouth on transfer deadline day.
• Hugo Rodallega only arrived back at Wigan on Friday after spending the week on international duty with Colombia. Should he not be considered ready for action, France international Olivier Kapo could be drafted into the starting eleven.
• Jason Koumas, who announced his retirement from international football with Wales in midweek, could return to the starting lineup after missing the defeat at Everton with a muscle problem.
Travel information
• For directions for the DW Stadium, click here.
General information
• For ticket news, click here.
• Saturday afternoon's weather forecast is for a sunny day with a maximum daytime temperature of 19C.