Alan Hansen’s Picks: Aston Villa v Wigan - Villans to Make Martinez Miserable
Martin O’Neill’s Aston Villa side slumped to a disappointing 6th position in the Premier League last season following a disastrous final few months of the campaign when they picked up just 11 points from 39 available. This dreadful run saw them crash out of Europe, the FA Cup and the top four positions in the league.
Martin has had the summer to restore his team’s confidence although the enforced retirement of Captain Martin Laursen and the sale of England regular Gareth Barry has significantly weakened his young side.
Some of Villa’s new boys are unlikely to make much of an immediate impact as Stewart Downing will be out until December and teenager Fabian Delph unlikely to be thrown straight into the Premier League. However, the club have kept hold of star winger Ashley Young and young striker Gabriel Agbonlahor should be revitalised after looking jaded towards the end of 2008/09. The Villa Park faithful will expect to start the campaign with a win and I would expect them to do so against a new-look Wigan team.
Roberto Martinez replaced Steve Bruce in the Latics hot-seat which is a big step up for the young Spaniard. He will have the added bonus of the Wigan fans on his side after a 6-year spell at the club as a player, but it is still a big job for a 36-year-old.
Wigan will be a completely different side from the one that started last season after the departures of star players Wilson Palacios, Antonio Valencia, Emile Heskey and Amr Zaki. This week the team was further weakened by the sale of young England U21 star Lee Cattermole. However, the club have brought in a few new recruits including striker Jason Scotland who scored 21 league goals for Martinez’ old club Swansea last season. Whether the Spaniard can buck the Latics trend of losing all of their opening day Premier League matches is highly doubtful.
A trip to Villa Park promises to be a tough start to Martinez’ Wigan career as manager, especially as a number of unproven new arrivals are likely to feature. Scoring goals may be a problem for them this season too. Therefore, I have to back Martin O’Neill’s young Villa side on Premier 10 to take all the points and to win their first ever home league game against the Latics in the process.
Alan Hansen’s Premier 10 pick: HOME WIN
Read the rest of Alan’s previews below:
Alan’s Previews
Manchester United v Birmingham
Tags: Alan Hansen, Aston Villa, Premier 10, Roberto Martinez, Wigan
