Premier League preview: Tottenham v Wigan

Tottenham will go into their clash with Wigan as hot favourites as they look to keep the pressure on the English Premier League’s top two.

Harry Redknapp’s men overcame Watford in the FA Cup fourth round on Friday, but their performance would have been a concern for the manager.

Tottenham’s league campaign has started stuttering, with a draw against lowly Wolverhampton followed by a loss to Premier League leaders Manchester City – who are eight points clear of them at the top.

Tuesday’s clash against Wigan at White Hart Lane shapes as an opportunity to kick-start their campaign, otherwise City could surge further ahead.

The addition of Scott Parker in midfield on the last day of the transfer window has been a key for Redknapp, and his partnership with Luka Modric has worked well.

The form of Rafael van der Vaart (seven goals and four assists) and Gareth Bale (seven goals and seven assists) has also been important.

Bale, who is under an injury cloud, has continued where he left off last season, including scoring a memorable equaliser against City before Tottenham lost 3-2.

Striker Emmanuel Adebayor has been their top-scorer with nine league goals, but the last of those came in a 1-1 draw with Chelsea on December 22.

Ledley King is a chance to return for Tottenham after missing the FA Cup clash, while William Gallas and Sandro will be absent.

A win against Wigan is of even greater importance with a meeting with Liverpool at Anfield to follow next Monday.

Roberto Martinez’s bottom-placed Wigan have had serious problems, winless in their last seven league outings.

To start the winless run were draws against Chelsea and Liverpool – strong results – but they have been unable to build on them.

It has often been left to goalkeeper Ali Al-Habsi to keep them in encounters, while English shot-stopper Chris Kirkland has been sidelined.

Antolin Alcaraz and David Jones are a chance to return for Wigan, but Shaun Maloney is likely to miss again.