Man City v Wigan: Betting Preview & Tips

Man City v Wigan Athletic

Champions League chasing Manchester City play host to relegation threatened Wigan on Monday night and Betfair’s Dan ‘The Betting Man’ Fitch is backing the home side to get back to winning ways:

The pressure is now firmly on Manchester City as rivals Tottenham begin to pull away in the race for Champions League qualification. Spurs are five points ahead in fourth place and though City have a game in hand, the knowledge that they must win to stay in contention creates its own tension.

Their opponents on Monday night are Wigan Athletic. On paper it’s looks like one of City’s easier remaining fixtures, but Wigan are desperate for points to ensure their survival and at this time of the season you start to see results that contradict the formbook.

Wigan’s haven’t made a habit of upsetting the odds when playing away from home. So far they have won just three away games all season.

One thing Wigan have made a habit of, is picking up surprising results against teams you would expect them to lose to. Not many sides can boast of having beaten Aston Villa, Chelsea and Liverpool.

Roberto Martinez’s brand of possession football has produced better results than many would have expected. The same can’t be said of City’s Roberto Mancini, who has lost far more games than Mark Hughes did in the first half of the season, in around half the time.

With the resources available to City’s owners, Mancini will know that he could easily be replaced in the summer if results don’t measure up to expectations. Perhaps it is this pressure that resulted in his clash with David Moyes in midweek.

Mancini might look like a cool customer but he struggled to hold it together during his last days at Inter Milan and such anxiety can leak through to the squad who are already playing as if they have the jitters, having not won successive league games since the turn of the year.

City will be boosted by the return of Emmanuel Adebayor, who is available again having completed his four-match ban, while Stephen Ireland faces a late fitness test. Wigan look likely to be without Charles N’Zogbia who has a hip injury, while Emmerson Boyce is struggling with a groin strain.

When the goalscorer markets gain more liquidity, expect Carlos Tevez to trade as the favourite at around 4.5 to score first and 2.0 to net at any time, with Adebayor at 5.0 and 2.1. For Wigan, Hugo Rodallega will be favourite at around 12.0 and 4.5.

Neither team have shown much commitment to the art of scoring goals of late, with both City and Wigan having broken the 2.5 goals barrier on just three occasions, from their last 10 games. Under 2.5 goals does seem to represent the best value then at 2.2 compared to the 1.82 available for overs.

The two sides drew 1-1 earlier this season and Wigan have had the better of this fixture since earning promotion, winning five of their nine encounters. But City are the big favourites at 1.37, with the draw at 5.3 and Wigan at 11.0. Though their form in general has been patchy, City are consistent at home, with the recent defeat to Everton being their first of the season. I’d suggest backing them to at 2.02 to be winning at half time/full time.

A 1-0 City win can be backed at 8.4, with 2-0 at 6.6. Wigan have not scored in their last two away games, while City kept three successive clean sheets at home before their loss on Wednesday. You can back City to record another shut out at 1.94.

Recommended Bets:

• Back a Manchester City clean sheet @ 1.94;
• Back under 2.5 goals @ 2.2;
• Back Manchester City/Manchester City @ 2.02.

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