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| Let's hope he can give a thumbs up come 90 minutes... |
Injuries for Liverpool mean they are without Bellamy, Johnson and Agger and also doubtful is Charlie Adam. Martin Kelly picked up a knock against QPR but he is expected to be available on Saturday. For Wigan they are without Rodallega, Jones and their reserve keeper Pollitt.
Liverpool's current form in the league as we all know hasn't been fantastic. 4 losses out of the Reds' last 5 league games leaves them battling for their right to 7th with the likes of Swansea and Sunderland. Wigan's form isn't much better but perhaps consistent with 3 draws in the midst of a win and a loss.
The last time the two sides met, neither of them managed to score and this 0-0 is the first in a string of draws dating back to 2010. The last time Liverpool actually got the better of Wigan was in December 2009.
At this stage of the blog post i would usually supply you with a delicious stat sandwich... However, as you might have guessed those sort of stats don't just pop into my head, i grab them off the net, sometimes i filter around but usually i look on the beeb and just lately, i seem to be beating them to their match previews so today i have no bread for the sandwich but i do have some filling; Liverpool have drawn at home 8 times in the league this season, this is the highest tally of draws since 1971.
After the rollercoaster ride of a game against QPR i don't think anybody is in the mood to see that sort of crumbling from the Reds again any time soon. As I've mentioned countless times recently on the blog, Liverpool despite the two goals against QPR are still struggling to score, this was made evident in the fact that if Liverpool had taken their early chances, there may not have been such a problem.
Carroll didn't get much of a run out in the week and to be fair i reckon he'd suit this game. He might not score but I'd still want as much firepower on as possible considering the circumstances. The midfield i can only assume will be Spearing and Gerrard again in the centre but I'm not too sure who Dalglish is going to go with on the wings.
Optimistically I'll go for a 1-0 win to Liverpool for this one. I'm not expecting it to be a brilliant game and after reading those stats about the draws with Wigan my hope is quickly fading.
Enjoy the match folks!