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Match Preview By Ally
Campbell (14 October 2005)
Injuries/suspensions All of our international players have come back unharmed from the past week or so of action which is positive news. Emre played the 2nd half for Turkey on Wednesday which won't have pleased Souness but at least he's come through it unscaved. He'll start on the bench for us on Saturday which is a boost, he should be back for the 90 minutes against Sunderland on the 23rd. Solano is still injured, which is incredibly annyoing as everyone wants to see him back on the pitch, but he too is down for a return against the mackems. Bramble and Babayaro are both out aswell with hamstring and groin problems respectively, while Luque and Dyer continue to be long term absentees. Creativity is as high as ever for this game then! No suspensions at the moment, but a yellow card for Scott Parker will see him miss the Sunderland game next week, so best behaviour Scott! United squad: Given, Harper, Carr, Elliott, Taylor, Boumsong, Ramage, Parker, Bowyer, Emre, Clark, Faye, N'Zogbia, Brittain, Shearer, Owen, Ameobi, Chopra. Wigan Athletic Squad: Filan, Chimbonda, McMillan, Jackson, Thome, Henchoz, Camara, Johansson, McCulloch, Kavanagh, Mahon, Wright, De Zeeuw, Francis, Taylor, Teale, Bullard, Connolly, Skoko, Baines, Roberts, Pollitt.
How should we approach this game? Wigan are doing well this season, and they're on a run of 4 victories in a row. They'll see our match as a good opportunity to extend the run and establish themselves further as a Premiership side. I imagine they'll attack from the off and with the crowd behind them I wouldn't be surprised to see an early goal go in. The best way for us to play though is to attack and play the ball to Owen's feet, or ahead of him to run into. We'll no doubt play long ball, but it would be daft. We're not at our best, but with the likes of N'Zogbia and Bowyer we do have the players with the ability to do things with the ball and create moves. Bowyer, in my view, is completely wasted on the wing, but with Solano and Dyer injured we have no other option really. Hopefully Shearer will have benefited from the 2 weeks off and will be raring to go and lead us to victory. He only needs 6 goals for the record, the Shearer of old would have got it by now but its going to take a bit longer at this rate! Owen looked sharp however for England and those two games will have done him the world of good in terms of fitness. I still have to pinch myself sometimes when I see Owen line up for us. At a football forum on Tuesday Garth Crooks told me how he felt we had 'nabbed' him from the top clubs, is anyone on Tyneside particularly bothered? He's a wonderful asset for the club and another goal or two on Saturday will be brilliant. We've not played well recently and this needs to change. Even without our creative players we still should be able to play decent games. Souness points out that Emre will go forward rather than 'sideways and back', surely thats the managers job to tell the rest of them to do the same? It may not be Parker's job to go forwards all the time but the likes of Bowyer and Clark should always have one eye on the forwards and how to release them.
Key Players Newcastle: I hate to sound repetitive each week, but the awful display against Portsmouth surely reinforces the thought that Michael Owen is our most important player at the moment. When the rest are fit it'll take the pressure off him, but the simple fact is that when he doesn't play we look one dimensional, flat and devoid of ideas. When he does play he offers us something no one else does and frightens defenders. I don't think Ameobi would frighten a cat. Wigan: For Wigan, i've been pretty impressed with Jason Roberts this season. He's played this level for WBA before with little success, but in the first part of this season he's looked good. He brings pace and power to the attack and is a constant menace to defenders. We've kept 3 clean sheets in a row which is very commendable, and another on Saturday will be great.
VerdictIts going to be a tough game, no question about that. They'll be up for it and will be fresher after the international break, but its a winnable match. I'm going for a 2-1 win for the lads, goals from Owen and Clark. Howay the lads!
Likely Lineup
02/03 - Soton (A) - 1-1 draw, not a single card. 02/03 - Bolton (H) - 1-0 win, 1 YC to Toon, 2 for Bolton. 03/04 - Soton (H) - 1-0 win, 3 YC to Toon, 2 to Bolton. 03/04 - Leeds (H) - 1-0 win, no cards for Toon, 1 for Leeds. 04/05 - Norwich (H) (Carling Cup 3rd Round) - 2-1, 3 YC for Toon, 1 YC for Norwich, 1 penalty each. Overall Matches - 5. Yellow Cards - Toon 7 Opposition 6. Red Cards - None. Penalties - Toon 1 Opposition 1. Results - 4 Toon wins, 1 draw, no Opposition wins.
Pre-Match Reaction: Graeme Souness
"They've got some good players but only time will tell if they can sustain it. "The injuries are extremely frustrating for me. Emre is the only one back this week. But we're doing all we can to get them all back as quickly as we can."
"Although Alan Shearer is nearing the end of his playing career he is still a very good player and would get into most teams in Europe. "We are up against it because they also have a lot of quality in midfield."
Wigan Athletic Vs Newcastle Head To Head
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Match Preview: Wigan Athletic Vs Newcastle United
