Tottenham ended the year in a poor fashion, having lost to West Brom in the Premier League, thus staying on the brink of the relegation zone. Wigan, on the other hand, climbed to the seventh place of the Premiership with a great run of results and they will certainly enter this match in better spirits than the opponents.

Bolton suffered a heavy defeat from leaders Liverpool and they will try to make amends in this match. Wigan, on the other hand, continued the good run of results by beating Newcastle and Latics are now in the top part of the Premier League table.

Wigan had a lot of time to prepare for this match as their clash with Manchester United was postponed. Three wins from the last four league games saw Wigan escape from the dangerous zone and they will be looking to continue the trend. Newcastle pretty much did the same with back to back victories over Portsmouth and Tottenham and both teams will enter this match in high spirits.

Wigan put up a real fight at the Emirates and should have taken at least a point from the match. Still, they will be in high spirits after the good performance and will try to pour more misery on Blackburn. Paul Ince is under a lot of pressure after his team failed to win any of the last 10 league games and Rovers will be looking to stop the miserable run.

Arsenal managed to recover from back to back defeats to City and Villa and recorded a valuable derby win at Stamford Bridge last weekend. The youngsters were eliminated from the Carling Cup but that will not be a big blow. Wigan returned to winning ways with two home wins in the last two rounds and they will try to surprise the Gunners at the Emirates.

Wigan escaped from the relegation zone with a win over Everton on Monday, and we have no doubts that they will try to take another three points when they face WBA. The Baggies lost the third successive match and they are at the foot of the Premiership table.

Newcastle ended their winning run against Fulham and the Magpies will be very motivated to get back on track and win this match. Their opponent is just outside the relegation zone, thus this match will be very important for both sides. Wigan failed to build on the away win in Portsmouth, having been held to a goalless draw by Stoke. The Latics will also see this game as a chance to kick-start their campaign.

The Gunners pulled off a great result against Manchester United, thus ending the poor run of results. This will be another opportunity for Wenger to see some of his young stars in action and also rest the first team regulars. Wigan was unable to end the poor run of results, having taken just point against Stoke and they will try to surprise Arsenal and make it to the next round.

The Lady Luck smiled on Wigan for the first time this season, as the Latics defeated Portsmouth even though they were second best. They will be eager to get another three points and escape from the dangerous zone. Stoke once again profited from Rory Delap’s long throws and took all three points against Arsenal, thus escaping from the relegation zone.

Tony Adams was unfortunate to lose his first game in charge of Portsmouth, as his team lost the game at Anfield thanks to conceded penalty late into the game. He will be eager to win this game and show everyone that he is good enough to coach Portsmouth. Wigan lost fourth successive league match and they will have to try and take all three points from Portsmouth.