Latics take the trip to the end of the M62 hoping to emulate the fantastic showing last season when we won 5-0 and to build on the impressive 3-1 win over the then league leaders Chelsea last week.
Roberto will have to bring the team back down to earth for the game at Hull; a bad display will undo all the good work that culminated in the very impressive win over Chelsea. Hull on the other hand will have a massive point to prove after their 6-1 drumming at the hands of Liverpool last week.
Phil Brown is rumoured to be under fire at the KC Stadium, as all mangers are after a bad set of results. The Tigers gaffer has won one and drawn one game out of their seven this season and has only picked up 12 points in total since the turn of the year.
The Humberside team is a long way off their impressive start to their first Premier League season, where they notched up 11 points from their opening 6 games and lay in sixth spot. Injuries to Ashbee, Bullard and Garcia are not going to help their cause with Cooper and Gardner doubtful as well, but Geovanni seems to be hitting a bit of form.
Martinez has been lucky enough to keep all his squad fit so far this season with the exception of Olivier Kapo and he enjoys the same quota for this game. It is highly likely that he will keep a very similar team that got the better of Chelsea last time out.
Latics haven’t lost in Hull since their 3-1 loss at Boothferry Park back in 1985 when we both played in the third tier of English football and we must be looking to pick up another three points this time as well.
I mentioned in my last preview that if we could get the speed of thought and passing right, the system that Bobby has us playing will work. We showed last time out that it can be done, we can play this way, we can throw the ball around quickly and with purpose.
The big decision that Martinez had to make was which players to drop and which ones would fill their spots. The missers were Gomez and Koumas with Scharner and Scotland coming in to give the team a totally different look to the 4-5-1 formation that clearly wasn’t working, especially with Gomez as the kingpin.
The Spaniard’s dropping was a stroke of genius as without him there seemed so much more urgency. Scotland provided the much needed target man, whilst Rodallega drifted in and out of midfield helping him out. Scharner provided a much needed link between defence and attack, the team seemed to click a lot more.
A victory would further cement Bobby’s playing style as a winner and also open up the gap between us and the relegation mob. The referee is Mark Clattenburg for this game.
Head To Head League
| W | D | L | F | A | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 3 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 6 |
| Away | 2 | 3 | 2 | 10 | 6 |
| Total | 5 | 5 | 4 | 17 | 12 |
For all previous results between Wigan Athletic and Hull City Click Here
Current League Positions
| Pld | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | Pos | |
| Wigan Athletic | 7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 7 | 13 | -6 | 9 | 10th |
| Hull City | 7 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 19 | -13 | 4 | 19th |
Recent Record
| Latics | W | D | L | F | A | GD |
| Last 8 Games | 3 | 0 | 5 | 8 | 16 | -8 |
| Hull City | W | D | L | F | A | GD |
| Last 8 Games | 2 | 1 | 5 | 8 | 18 | -10 |
Foul Play
| Latics | Hull City |
| Games 08/09 | Yellow Cards | Red Cards | Games 08/09 | Yellow Cards | Red Cards |
| 8 | 15 | 0 | 9 | 18 | 0 |
| Average | 1.9 | 0 | Average | 2 | 0 |
Fixtures
| 3rd October 2009 |
| Bolton Wanderers | v | Tottenham Hotspur |
| Burnley | v | Birmingham City |
| Manchester United | v | Sunderland |
| Wolverhampton Wanderers | Portsmouth | Team |
| 4th October 2009 |
| Arsenal | v | Blackburn Rovers |
| Chelsea | v | Liverpool |
| Everton | v | Stoke City |
| West Ham United | Fulham |
| 5th October 2009 |
| Aston Villa | v | Manchester City |
