Wigan - Cardiff, English League Championship
2004-08-30 16.00 CET
Pick: Wigan
Stake: 3%
Odds: 1,60
Final reasons
In form Wigan will seek to extend their unbeaten run today by defeating Cardiff at home on JJB Stadium. Wigan has started the new season very good and is traditionally very hard to compete with at home. They have no important players missing. Cardiff on the other hand has started the season bad and has now three straight defeats. Today they have announced that most important player Robert Earnshaw will leave the club and this will of course weaken them badly. We are confident that Wigan will win this game, however only medium stake since it is the beginning of the season, 3%.
General comment about the game
Table toppers Wigan will take on 22nd placed Cardiff this afternoon. This is Wigan’s second year in the second highest division in England. Last year they became one of the biggest surprises when they during the whole season were fighting for the top spots. They missed the playoffs because of an injury time goal on the last day. This year they are one of the favourites to get at least a playoff spot. They have not made any bigger changes in their squad. Out are first team regulars defender Jason de Vos (to Ipswich) and striker Andy Liddell (to Sheffield United). New signings are experienced midfielder Per Frandsen (5 apps, 1 goal) and defender Emerson Thome (0(1) apps) from Bolton and defender David Wright (5 apps) from Crewe. Wigan is known for their strong defence and the firing power from their top striker Nathan Ellington and Jason Roberts. The pair has scored seven goals among them in the opening five rounds. The season has started well for Wigan; they are still unbeaten after three wins and two draws. Their achievement gets even better considering that their opponents have been strong in most of these matches. Two days ago we recommended a bet on Wigan when they played away against Sunderland. They earned a draw which gave us a small profit. Wigan was the better team in this game and also took the lead in the first half. They continued to mix strong defensive work with fine goal scoring chances but near the end Sunderland managed to equalise. Both players and manager Paul Jewell was disappointed after the game since they thought they deserved the victory. No new injuries in the Wigan squad today meaning they can continue with the same line up as recent.
Cardiff has started the new season worse than expected. The club’s own goal is to reach the play offs, but to do this they must play better than they have done so far. A draw in the premiere followed by a victory at home against Coventry is so far their only points. Since then they have collected three straight defeats. The club has not been busy in the transfer market this summer. Three new signings is all; goalkeeper Tony Warner from Millwall, defender Robert Page from Sheffield Utd and young Joel McAnuff from West Ham. The first two has a lot of experience from this division but McAnuff has more to prove. And today came the big blow for the Cardiff faithful; top scorer Robert Earnshaw will leave for Premiership club West Bromwich. Last year he scored amazing 21 goals. No other important player has left, but without Earnshaw, Cardiff will found it very tough to finish higher than previous season, 13. No new injuries are reported, however goalkeeper Martyn Margetson (3 apps) is still injured.
Recent games for home team
|
2004-08-28 |
Sunderland-Wigan |
1-1 |
|
2004-08-21 |
Wigan-Brighton |
3-0 |
|
2004-08-15 |
West Ham-Wigan |
1-3 |
|
2004-08-10 |
Millwall-Wigan |
0-2 |
|
2004-08-07 |
Wigan-Nottingham |
1-1 |
Recent games for away team
|
2004-08-28 |
Cardiff-Stoke |
0-1 |
|
2004-08-21 |
Ipswich-Cardiff |
3-1 |
|
2004-08-13 |
Cardiff-Plymouth |
0-1 |
|
2004-08-10 |
Cardiff-Coventry |
2-1 |
|
2004-08-07 |
Crewe-Cardiff |
2-2 |
Home table
|
Wigan |
2 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
4-1 |
4 |
Away table
|
Cardiff |
2 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
3-5 |
1 |
Links for this game
|
Wigan: |
|
|
Cardiff: |
|
|
|
|
|
Livescore: |
|
|
|
|
|
League: |
|
|
|
|
// SportsObserver 040830
