It was a 2-2 draw at the Swansea.Com Stadium which was greeted with some displeasure by the home fans back in November. Despite some refereeing errors the Swans most certainly fell to the set piece routines that Wigan relied upon during this game. That Swansea side may well have improved somewhat since then but tomorrows Bank Holiday Monday fixture ( kick off 3pm ) will be a huge test for Russell Martin and his charges.
The Swans fell two goals behind in fifteen minutes the last time the teams met. A point was earned when Ryan Manning ( below ) pulled one back and then Joel Piroe scored from the penalty spot. It was a pretty desperate game and one which Swansea must take some learning from going in to Mondays clash.
Wigan are at the foot of the table and have had three points deducted, let’s say it’s looking pretty grim all round. The league table doesn’t lie and currently the Latics are eight points from safety with six games to go. Lose tomorrow against an improved Swansea side and it could well be the final nails that will be getting readied for the big hammer. Wigan have only scored thirty four goals all season, and have conceded sixty. That’s their only hope really as Swansea have conceded fifty nine in an error strewn campaign at the back. There have been slight signs of improvement, in the last three games we have seen two wins and a draw with two clean sheets. The Swans have scored five in those three games, in fact in only two of them as they drew 0-0 with Coventry City on Friday.
The Swans will have a big support travelling north as well.
The league table paints a poor picture for both Swansea and Wigan when it comes to goals against.
Swansea City will head towards Greater Manchester later today in a positive frame of mind. Despite failing to beat Coventry City it was an entertaining scoreless game. There were numerous chances for both sides to take the three points. There could be a few changes although Russell Martin has kept the same starting selections since his sides upturn in form. It’s possible Joe Allen will start but that decision hasn’t been made as yet, and Martin will wait on Olivier Ntcham who has played in the last three games and has been away with Cameroon. His back three of Harry Darling, Ben Cabango and Nathan Wood should all remain. The other option for change will be the ‘wing backs’ on either side for want of another phrase.
Joel Latibeaudiere hasn’t played since the Cardiff City double double game when he came on as a substitute - and Matt Sorinola has seen limited game time recently. Most Swans fans will want the same side starting though. Maybe Allen as a change or Ollie Cooper. Wigan don’t score many goals from open play, in fact fifteen all season. Here are the whoscored.com stats for the Latics on this subject.
Although the Swans have scored five goals in two of their last three games WhoScored.Com deem that insufficient and comment on this in their pre match summary. Just goes to show not everything is glaringly obvious when it comes to stats and how they are perceived. Swansea should take note that Wigan were no mugs in their 1-0 loss to Sheffield United on Friday which will most certainly mean anything taken from this game will be a bonus.
WhoScored.Com summary
Wigan couldn't produce a response to Iliman Ndiaye's 8th-minute goal earlier in the weekend as they suffered a narrow defeat at Bramall Lane. The Latics are now eight points adrift from safety and will need a win here to keep any faint survival hopes alive. Swansea attempted 16 shots without finding the back of the net on Friday as the Welsh club played their part in a goalless draw against Coventry. Russell Martin's men look much more defensively sound since switching to the 4-1-3-2 system, but goals remain hard to come by.
Latics boss Shaun Maloney has four possibly five players out and we will report on that in tomorrows team news report. Russell Martin will report on his squads situation later this morning, Despite the very recent more positive results some Swans fans can’t see beyond criticising Russell Martin. Generally to the extent whereby no matter how a victory or hard earned point is gained there’s little if any support for the head coach. Let’s just say though this is a very small minority of supporters, but they are there all the same.
Swansea Independent have consistently remained behind the manager and where criticism has been made in reports it has been as a result of a match result or tactic. A continual tirade of ‘Martin Out’ and let’s be honest no matter how well a team does there are always fans who want change for the sake of it, or don’t see the bigger picture. Apparently now is the time to sack Klopp at Liverpool, a point in case. We have several reports on this website questioning a variety of things, however we have kept it civil and professional in our editorial and reports.
Credit where it’s due as well.
Wigan will have done their homework on the Swans, and there are numerous weaknesses in the side for sure. However, if the Swans dominate the game and get quality balls through to Joel Piroe or Liam Cullen then opportunities will be created. If Liam Walsh is included in the match day squad he too will add some torment for the Wigan defence to deal with. Cullen has seven goals and Piroe fourteen this season. We can see these in the explanations below.
It’s pay by cash at the turnstiles on Monday afternoon, already over a thousand tickets for Swans fans have been snapped up. The incredible Jack Army once again show in big numbers following their team. And with nothing on this game for Swansea that’s an incredible support for such a long journey. Those of us with longer memories of Wigan Athletic at their old ground ( Springfield Park ) before moving to the DW Stadium will recall a donkey on the open away terracing which was regularly draped in scarves etc … by fans of whichever team were visiting, Nowadays of course such things would never be seen even in the upper leagues of non league.
It’s a sign of the times and how things have changed. Especially when you think that it was only in 2013 that Wigan beat Manchester City 1-0 at Wembley to win the FA Cup.
Wigan Athletic v Swansea City kicks off at 3pm on Monday and is available on the Sky Sports red button 🔴
Read the match report from that November 2-2 draw here –> Swans in another poor showing Proof if ever it is needed that we do report as we see it.
Follow the match day thread by clicking here –> Latics v Swans match day thread Let’s remember football can be amusing and fun !