Manchester City v Wigan Athletic – Preview, Prediction, TV Listings, Betting Odds – EPL – 10 September 2011

Manchester City have won their first three matches in the English Premier League as they host 8th place Wigan Athletic. The match will take place at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, England on Saturday, September 10, 2011. Kickoff is scheduled for 15:00 BST (UK time), 16:00 CET (Central Europe), and 10:00 EST (USA Eastern).

Manchester City v Wigan Athletic TV Listings

It will be televised on Fox Deportes (USA), ESPN (South America), C+ Futbol (Spain), Sky Sport (Italy), Abu Dhabi Sports (Middle East) and Viasat XTRA (Scandinavia).

Manchester City v Wigan Athletic Preview

Man City manager Roberto Mancini

“Wigan have a fantastic manager (Roberto Martinez) and play football very well. There is always a risk because we want to attack, we want to play football and we want to score that we will have a problem. Every game that we played against Wigan in the past we had a problem. We won but we had a problem.”

“If we don’t have a good attitude, good concentration and think it’s easy then I think we’ll struggle. It’s important to have the same attitude that we’ve had in the first three games.”

“Edin is a fantastic striker. He’s scored everywhere he’s been. When he came here last season he had a problem like all players who come to England from different leagues, like David Silva for the first few months last year. But I’m sure this year Edin can score a lot of goals for us,” the City boss said.

“At this moment it’s City, United, Chelsea and Liverpool at the top of the table. But I think that Arsenal and Tottenham could arrive at the top in the next few weeks because they’re very good teams. But I think six teams are in with a chance of winning the Premier League.”

“The captain is Vincent Kompany. The reason is simple; in the summer Carlos wanted to leave the club for family reasons. I respected his opinion and agreed that he could leave the club.

“Now, Carlos is here and he is a fantastic player for us because he can score 20 goals in a season. But I decided in the summer that Vincent is the captain. Carlos has accepted that.”

“He (Hargreaves) had a big problem in the last two years but he can recover very well and be a very important player for us.

“I think he can play in maybe two or three weeks and he can always play.

“He is 30 years old, he is young and he was very unlucky.

“If he can recover very well it will not be a problem.”

Wigan manage Roberto Martinez

“It’s fair to say that the Etihad Stadium is one of the most difficult places to visit in the Barclays Premier League but at the same time it is an exciting place for us to go.

“Looking back at last season’s game there I felt we performed really well especially in the second-half which we can take a lot of heart from.

“Since then, things have changed a lot and from Man City’s point-of-view they’ve certainly upped their status after winning the FA Cup.

“They have to be considered as title-challengers and we’ll have to be ready to face that.

“But it’s been a good week of preparation for us, all the international players have returned free of injury and re-joined what is now a very strong squad.

“There is something very special developing in the dressing room with the group of players all having a really competitive edge.
“We still need to prepare ourselves in the right manner for this weekend though, because unless you are perfect against a side like Man City it’s difficult to compete.

“The new players who have come to our club have settled in really well and will straight away play a big role in the team this month; you have to remember we have a busy schedule coming up in which the squad will be needed in its entirety.”

“The players who stand out for me are those who are a little different from the rest; Edin Dzeko is someone who has adapted to life in the Premier League really well this season and become the player we all saw performing so well for Wolfsburg in Germany.

“But for me Samir Nasri and David Silva are the two players who make life really difficult for the opposition to be solid.

“Having said that I feel we’re in a moment that allows to be able to go there enjoy ourselves and focus on our performance, and if we can do that I’m sure we’ll take many positives from the game.”

“There will be a real hunger to play from both sets of players, and in our case with the three new signings will help that excitement in the squad before a demanding few weeks.

“The possibilities we have, different options and talent in the squad is extremely strong at the moment and it’s clear we have become a stronger side following the last transfer window.

“Apart from Antolin who we’re not expecting back now for at least another five-six weeks, Steve Gohouri is the other injury-concern but I’m happy that we’ve finally found the right treatment to be able to get him back to full fitness as soon as possible – we’re looking at around 10-14 days for him.”