Matchday 19 ~ Wigan Ath. vs Newcastle

[Freddy Adu]

Wigan Ath. vs Newcastle

Premier League 2007/2008 | Campeonato | Day 19

Wigan Ath. Newcastle

Date 2007-12-26 City Wigan Stadium JJB Stadium Referee

[Cristiano Best 07]

2-1 Wigan.

[Brasil]

Newcastle.

[Freddy Adu]

Wigan v Newcastle

JJB Stadium
Wednesday, 26 December
Kick-off: 1500 GMT
BBC coverage: BBC Sport website, BBC Radio Five Live & highlights on Match of the Day. Featured game on Score and Final Score.

[Freddy Adu]

Wigan defender Mario Melchiot is available after serving a suspension.

Emile Heskey could return following an ankle injury but Jason Koumas remains a major doubt with the groin problem that sidelined him against Fulham.

Newcastle striker Michael Owen is ready to resume training and could make an appearance in the squad.

Stephen Carr is fit after a hamstring injury, as is Abdoulaye Faye, while Damien Duff could start after his return against Derby on Sunday.

[Freddy Adu]

Wigan (from): Kirkland, Melchiot, Taylor, Boyce, Bramble, Kilbane, Valencia, Brown, Scharner, Landzaat, Koumas, Bent, Heskey, Aghahowa, Granqvist, Olembe, Koumas, Skoko, Cotterill, Hall, Sibierski, Pollitt.

[Freddy Adu]

Newcastle (from): Given, Harper, Carr, Beye, N'Zogbia, Enrique, Rozehnal, Cacapa, Taylor, Faye, Edgar, Geremi, Butt, Barton, Milner, Emre, Duff, Smith, Martins, Viduka, Owen.

[Freddy Adu]

Wigan manager Steve Bruce:
"Two weeks ago we didn't have a hope of getting out of the bottom three and now we are in striking distance of that.

"When you take over a club and they haven't won in 13 games, you've got to try and restore the pride and a little bit of belief.

"There were a lot of pleasing things in the game against Fulham."

[Freddy Adu]

Newcastle manager Sam Allardyce:
"The Christmas period is where people begin to start fighting harder for their position at the bottom.

"Wigan will have picked up some confidence, so I will expect a very difficult game.

"But it is one in which if we do hit our form - each individual and as a team - we can call it a winnable game."

[Freddy Adu]

BIG-MATCH FACTS

The form of both Wigan and Newcastle has picked up of late after lengthy winless spells.

The Latics have won one and drawn two of the last four; the Magpies have two won and drawn two of the last four.

Wigan are aiming to complete the hat-trick of home wins over north-east clubs, having already accounted for Middlesbrough and Sunderland at the JJB.

Wigan beat Manchester City 4-3 at home in their first Boxing Day clash in the Premier League two years ago, but lost 3-1, away to Manchester United last year.

Newcastle have not picked up three Premier League points on a Boxing Day since beating Middlesbrough 3-0 at St James' Park in 2001.

All five Premier League meetings between these clubs have been won by the club playing at home. Should Newcastle reverse the trend, they will secure their first ever league double over Wigan.

[Freddy Adu]

WIGAN ATHLETIC
Highest achievable: 16th
Lowest could fall: 19th

[Freddy Adu]

NEWCASTLE UNITED
Highest achievable: 8th
Lowest could fall: 10th

[Freddy Adu]

WIGAN ATHLETIC

Marcus BENT is Wigan's leading scorer with seven Premier League goals, including a hat-trick against Blackburn last Saturday.

Wigan have only six different players on their goalscorers list; Bent has over twice as many goals as anyone else.

[Freddy Adu]

If selected:-

Denny LANDZAAT will be making his 50th appearance for Wigan.

Titus BRAMBLE and Antoine SIBIERSKI will be facing their former club.

[Freddy Adu]

NEWCASTLE UNITED

Obafemi MARTINS is Newcastle's top scorer with seven goals.

MARTINS is also the club's top marksmen in the Premier League with six.

[Freddy Adu]

If selected:-

Stephen CARR will be making his 300th career league appearance (Tottenham and Newcastle).

Steve HARPER will be making his 100th career league appearance (Newcastle, Bradford, Stockport, Hartlepool and Huddersfield).

[Freddy Adu]

HEAD TO HEAD

A fit-again Michael Owen ended Newcastle 647-minute goal drought on Tyneside in the reverse fixture on 1 September, when he scored the winner against a 10-man Wigan, who'd had Kevin Kilbane sent-off, just after the break.

The only time these clubs have drawn was in their first ever meeting. An FA Cup third round tie at St James's Park on 9 January 1954 ended 2-2, before the Magpies put out the then non-leaguers 2-3 in the replay.

[Freddy Adu]

Home and away
League (inc PL): Wigan 2 win, Newcastle 3, Draws 0
Prem: Wigan 3 win, Newcastle 3, Draws 0

[Freddy Adu]

at Wigan only
League (inc PL): Wigan 2 wins, Newcastle 0, Draws 0
Prem: Wigan 2 wins, Newcastle 0, Draws 0

[Freddy Adu]

LAST SEASON'S CORRESPONDING GAME
Wigan Athletic 1-0 Newcastle United
25 February 2007 - Ref: Alan Wiley
Wigan scorer: Taylor 40

[Freddy Adu]

THIS SEASON'S REVERSE FIXTURE
Newcastle United 1-0 Wigan Athletic
1 September 2007 - Ref: Steve Bennett
Newcastle scorer: Owen 87
Sent Off: Kilbane (Wigan) 46

[Freddy Adu]

REFEREE
Mike Dean (Wirral)

[Oscar Cardozo]

Emile Heskey is on the mend after missing the draw against Fulham on Saturday, although he is unlikely to pass a fitness test for the clash against Newcastle. Mark Viduka is likely to keep his place up front for the Toon after his two-goal display against Derby, while Damien Duff suffered no adverse reaction to his first appearance of an injury-hit season and is likely to again be on the bench.

[Freddy Adu]

FT Wigan Athletic 1 - 0 Newcastle U.

[Freddy Adu]

FT		Wigan Athletic [1 - 0] Newcastle U.
33'		M. Brown
57'			B. Emre
57'			J. Milner
65'	[1 - 0]	R. Taylor
80'			A. Smith
88'			S. Taylor

[Freddy Adu]

Biggest shock imo.

[Brasil]

Newcastle you freaking suck.

[Freddy Adu]

Christmas jeers for Allardyce as Wigan escape drop zone


Written by: AFP

	Newcastle were booed off the pitch by their own supporters after a 1-0 defeat by Wigan that piles the pressure back on to under-fire manager Sam Allardyce, seen here in November 2007.

WIGAN, England (AFP) - Newcastle were booed off the pitch by their own supporters after a 1-0 defeat by Wigan that piles the pressure back on to under-fire manager Sam Allardyce.

For the second successive season a superb free-kick by Ryan Taylor, just after the hour mark, settled the encounter as Wigan moved out of the relegation zone.

The win has capped a revival in Wigan's fortunes since Steve Bruce took over as manager last month, the Latics having now taken eight points from the five matches that the former Birmingham boss has been in charge.

But for Allardyce, who was reportedly close to the sack at the start of the month, there can only be fresh pressure with this dismal display coming in the wake of a home draw with bottom side Derby on Sunday.

Newcastle managed to conjure up only one shot on goal in the entire 90 minutes and they fully deserved to lose as a result of a free-kick conceded by Alan Smith, who had pulled down midfielder Michael Brown just outside the area.

Taylor, normally a right-sided defender but deployed on the left of midfield on Wednesday, stepped up to strike a dipping, right-foot shot over the wall and beyond the despairing dive of Newcastle keeper Shay Given.

It was only Taylor's second goal for the club -- the first also having come from a free-kick against Newcastle, in a 1-0 win back in February.

Wigan had enjoyed the only chance of the opening period, a long-range strike by Austrian midfielder Paul Scharner being held by Given after a deflection off Geremi.

Newcastle's only chance came seven minutes into the second half when Chris Kirkland was rushed into a clearance and sent the ball skywards.

Mark Viduka was waiting when it fell and the Australian striker sent an overhead kick goalkwards only to be denied by a goalline clearance by former Newcastle defender Titus Bramble.

[Freddy Adu]

Ever since Bruce tookover Wigan has been owning out there.

[Freddy Adu]

Allardyce furious over Toon troubles


Written by: AFP

	Newcastle were booed off the pitch by their own supporters after a 1-0 defeat by Wigan that piles the pressure back on to under-fire manager Sam Allardyce, seen here in November 2007.

WIGAN, England (AFP) - Newcastle boss Sam Allardyce launched a furious attack on his own players who were booed off the pitch for the second successive match after losing 1-0 to struggling Wigan on Wednesday.

The loss came in the wake of a 2-2 draw at home to bottom club Derby on Saturday and left the north-east club marooned in mid-table in the English Premier League.

With a few minutes remaining at the JJB Stadium on Wednesday, the majority of the 5,500 travelling Newcastle fans sang: "We're ***** and we're sick of it."

Allardyce agreed with his success-starved supporters.

"If I was them I would be singing what they sang because we're not good enough," said the manager.

"I know it's not good enough, so it doesn't take much for them to work out it's not good enough. They are not daft."

Allardyce laid the blame for the display squarely at the feet of his team.

"The level of form they have dropped to is unacceptable," he said.

"Everyone can have an off day, but our off days are really off. Right now the only pressure on us is what we are putting on ourselves because we are performing at that level.

"We are professional managers and players and we have to perform under pressure, whether it be good, bad or indifferent.

"We have to accept that pressure and use it as a positive, not a negative, not shrivel and die.

"You have to roll your sleeves up, wear your heart on your sleeve and go and fight because that is what gets you out of difficult situations."

Newcastle carved out just one chance when Mark Viduka's overhead kick early in the second half was cleared off the line by former Toon centre-back Titus Bramble.

Wigan then clinched a win to lift themselves out of the bottom three when Ryan Taylor curled home a 22-yard free-kick.