Premier League preview: Wigan v Chelsea

Chelsea have the chance to continue building on their excellent form when they travel to take on Wigan on Saturday.

The Londoners became the first team to beat Manchester City in the English Premier League this season with a 2-1 win at Stamford Bridge on Monday.

Chelsea’s win was their third in a row and saw them jump to third, and they will be eager to continue closing the gap on City and Manchester United.

Andre Villas-Boas’ men have begun to find form, with the deeper defensive line they have adopted since a 2-0 loss to Liverpool in the Carling Cup on November 29 beginning to pay off.

Midfielder Frank Lampard, the focal point for Chelsea in the past few seasons, was relegated to the bench against City, but came on to score his second penalty and seventh league goal of the campaign.

It was his first goal for Chelsea since netting in a 1-0 win over struggling Blackburn on November 5, and could earn him a start at DW Stadium.

Attacker Daniel Sturridge also has seven league goals, while Spanish midfielder Juan Mata has been a key player in recent weeks.

The former Valencia man has provided seven assists, second only to Manchester City’s David Silva’s eight on the Premier League charts.

Having qualified for the Champions League knockout stages and closed the gap on league leaders City, Villas-Boas will want his team – still without midfielder Michael Essien – to continue building in the lead-up to Christmas.

The first task appears to be an easy one in Wigan, who are in the relegation zone with just three wins.

But two of those have come in the last three matches, through 2-1 wins against Sunderland and West Bromwich Albion.

Spanish midfielder Jordi Gomez (three goals) has been a major contributor in the victories, while Argentine striker Franco di Santo (four goals) has impressed up front.

This shapes as a big task for under-fire Roberto Martinez’s men, who comes up against a Chelsea side that has handed them 6-0 and 8-0 thrashings in recent seasons.

Although they have been without goalkeeper Chris Kirkland because of a back injury, Omani shot-stopper Ali Al-Habsi has been strong between the sticks.

A draw would be a good result for Wigan against a Chelsea outfit beginning to look like the title contenders they were expected to be.