Premier League preview: Swansea City v Wigan Athletic

The first English Premier League match to ever be staged in Wales will take place on Saturday when Swansea City host Wigan Athletic.

The historic occasion will be held at the Liberty Stadium as Swansea look to win their first points of their maiden Premier League campaign.

Brendan Rodgers’ side were smashed 4-0 by Manchester City on Monday, but they will not be the only side to be on the wrong end of a result against Roberto Mancini’s big-spenders.

The perfect chance to bounce back comes on Saturday and with a noisy home following cheering them on, the Swans will fancy their chances of getting all three points.

Wigan started their season against another promoted side, and although they took an early lead, they were held to a 1-1 draw by Norwich City at the DW Stadium.

Roberto Martinez’s team are one of the favourites to be relegated this season and they have not appeared to replace Charles N’Zogbia – who left for Aston Villa for nine-and-a-half-million pounds – properly.

Martinez will be hoping that 20-year-old Nigerian-born winger Victor Moses can offer the same threat and although he impressed against Norwich, they are big shoes to fill.

A lack of goals is also a concern with Wigan’s set-up, with last season’s top scorer Hugo Rodallega netting just nine times in 36 appearances.

The match takes on extra significance for Martinez, who was Swansea manager for three seasons, leading them to promotion and the League One title in 2008-09.

“From a personal point of view it’s been a fantastic summer with Wigan staying up and Swansea going up,” Martinez said.

“But it’s what Swansea deserves. The club has been working hard on and off the field for the last few seasons and deserve to reap the rewards.”

He continued: “Everyone linked with Swansea should feel proud of what the club has achieved and I’m sure it’s the start of something special.”

Martinez has no injury concerns while Swansea are just missing defender Gary Monk from their first-choice side.

That means that both sides will be at virtual full-strength, with the encounter expected to shed light on what is sure to be a fascinating battle for survival at the end of the season.