A look ahead at Newcastle - Wigan
Posted by JamesB in Newcastle, Wigan | 14 April 2006
Nobby Solano stressed in an interview how important it is to get 6 points over this weekend, but it is by no means a guarantee. We owe Wigan a beating as they knocked us out of the League Cup this year, and robbed us in the reverse fixture at the JJB when officials failed to see Shearer's header which had crossed the line by about half a yard. Sunderland may be down, but derby games are never a dead cert either way, and the pressure might be off Sunderland now so you never know what to expect.
Good news is Kieron Dyer will be fit to face Wigan at the weekend, and I'm hoping his pace will be effective against the likes of De Zeeuw. Henchoz is out of the game, so the other centre back may only be a fringe player, which is why I see Dyer as the key player tomorrow. Owen has had his first full training session since his foot break against Tottenham but will not be ready for a couple more games, and Steven Taylor is pencilled in to play against West Brom next weekend when they visit St. James'.
A win by two goals would see us go above the Latics who are also UEFA Cup hopefuls, so in terms of our final league position this could well be an important game.
We should have enough in the tank to defeat Wigan, especially if we play as we have done the last two games. Then again, I thought we would have enough to beat their reserves in the League Cup this year, so who knows. Its important to put on a good show ahead of the big derby on Easter monday, because the pressure is going to be on for that game and we don't want to be going in to it on the back of a poor performance.
Final prediction, 2-0 to United, with Dyer grabbing a goal or two.
