A big game for us, an even bigger one for QPR. Fail to win against us and it really is hopeless for them. We of course can lose some games and still manage to stay up - but we face some different challenges this time around with an FA Cup run still ongoing.
They're coming off a couple of defeats - away to Fulham and Villa - but previous to that they had a couple of wins - at home to Sunderland and away to Southampton. Probably the Southampton one is the most surprising, given how well the Saints have been playing. Sunderland are dire, and Wigan - hopefully, if the right Wigan turns up - will provide a lot more of a challenge.
Bobby has stuck with the team which served us well in the Cup against Everton but this might be the time for a change or two. Joel would seem to be first choice keeper just now, and Alcaraz has been immense since he came back. Scharner looked leggy against Norwich - but pretty much the whole team seemed to be suffering from post-break syndrome. I expect them to be a lot fresher come Sunday. I'd be looking to bench McManaman for di Santo, and Gomez for McArthur. More muscle and closing down in the midfield. Di Santo will run Samba ragged.
On paper they of course look like they should be much higher up the division - some really talented players like Taarabt, Remy, Mbia and Zamora (though they don't seem so keen on him). But Wigan have frequently made light of differences in apparent squad quality. A collection of talented individuals will always get trumped by a team playing well together. Probably.
Very difficult game to predict. As I've pointed out before Wigan went to both Villa and Reading and turned them over, when all the commentators expected much tougher matches. So we're capable of upsetting anyone. But this is the stage of the season where form gets overtaken by desire on the day, so I'm going to say I'll be happy with a draw.
They're coming off a couple of defeats - away to Fulham and Villa - but previous to that they had a couple of wins - at home to Sunderland and away to Southampton. Probably the Southampton one is the most surprising, given how well the Saints have been playing. Sunderland are dire, and Wigan - hopefully, if the right Wigan turns up - will provide a lot more of a challenge.
Bobby has stuck with the team which served us well in the Cup against Everton but this might be the time for a change or two. Joel would seem to be first choice keeper just now, and Alcaraz has been immense since he came back. Scharner looked leggy against Norwich - but pretty much the whole team seemed to be suffering from post-break syndrome. I expect them to be a lot fresher come Sunday. I'd be looking to bench McManaman for di Santo, and Gomez for McArthur. More muscle and closing down in the midfield. Di Santo will run Samba ragged.
On paper they of course look like they should be much higher up the division - some really talented players like Taarabt, Remy, Mbia and Zamora (though they don't seem so keen on him). But Wigan have frequently made light of differences in apparent squad quality. A collection of talented individuals will always get trumped by a team playing well together. Probably.
Very difficult game to predict. As I've pointed out before Wigan went to both Villa and Reading and turned them over, when all the commentators expected much tougher matches. So we're capable of upsetting anyone. But this is the stage of the season where form gets overtaken by desire on the day, so I'm going to say I'll be happy with a draw.