Premier League
Saturday 2nd March 2013
DW Stadium
Wigan Athletic VS LiverpoolDW Stadium
For days we have been stewing. It has been a long wait since the last time we stepped off the picth, having just fallen at the last hurdle against Zenit. It was a mammoth comeback that just fell short. Today Wigan will feel the brunt of that bottled up frustration.
Wigan are a very difficult side to gauge. At times they look dead and buried but towards the end of the season always appear to rise up and pick up enough results that will see them remain in the Premier League for another season. They're hardly the most alluring of teams and will never attract any of the worlds top talent and so the spotting of a talent like Figueroa and before that Valencia & N'Zogbia as well as the nurturing and resurgence of someone like Franco Di Santo, who has gone from a joke figure to a fully capped Argentine international.
In spite of both the location and Dave Whelan - who is probably as loathsome a figure as there is in football - I do have a certain respect for them. Most of that is down to Roberto Martinez, who has proved in a industry filled with faux-loyalty that some people are still capable of sticking with a club that has given them a chance. Also, the style of football with which he has instilled into his team and stubbornly stuck to at times is very admirable. Wigan's perennial survival is primarily down to the nous of their manager and his ability to bring in the right kind of player.
With Daniel Sturridge ruled out, our task has gotten infinitely harder due to the fact that in such a short space of time he has added so much to our attack. I'd certainly like to see Coutinho play but other than that the majority of the side will be the one that came so close to overturning Zenit. Suarez will be once again the focal point but in a game where most of the action will be in the middle third of the park I'm looking for a massive contribution from the midfield. Jordan Henderson will be the one with the impetus to go forward and this could be another important game in terms of his continuing growth as a player.
It sounds unlikely and there are bound to be bumps along the way but from here on in we need perfection. Picking up maximum points from our remaining games is the tallest of orders for a team that has such problems with consistency but at the very least we can give ourselves a chance with victory today. It's not about winning them all but rather winning enough to hang around in the race for Europe while other teams play each other. If a gap opens, the only chance we'll have to take advantage of the points that will inevitably be dropped is if we build up a head of steam. The later we leave it to get going, the more unlikely it will be to effect anything.
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