Chelsea to win to nil against Wigan in Premier League opener
Published:Chelsea travel to the DW Stadium on the Premier League’s opening weekend to face Wigan, with a win to nil for the visitors in the offing.
Out of Wigan’s 14 Premier League clashes with Chelsea, eight have ended in victory for the Blues without the Latics troubling the scoresheet – and a repeat this season is priced at 5/4.
The most notable of those triumphs for the West London side were comprehensive 6-0, 8-0 and 4-0 batterings, whilst Chelsea have beaten the Greater Manchester club 1-0 on four separate occasions in the league.
In fact, Wigan’s first ever game in the Premier League ended in a 1-0 win for Chelsea, with a late Hernan Crespo stunner snatching the points for then manager José Mourinho on the first weekend of the 2005/06 season.
The Latics have beaten Chelsea just once in the league, two seasons ago when they recorded a 3-1 victory caused largely due to Petr Cech’s second half sending off.
The two sides have shared the points in the Premier League twice, while Chelsea have dominated the fixture with 11 wins. And that trend looks set to continue this weekend as Roberto Di Matteo’s team often get off to a flying start too.
Chelsea are unbeaten in the last 10 years of domestic curtain-raisers, with half of those opening games ending in victories to nil for the three-time Premier League winners.
The current Champions League holders are also no strangers to a delayed start to their campaign, with Sunday’s fixture against Wigan set to be the eighth time in the last decade Chelsea have started their season a day later than their rivals.
To make matters worse for Wigan, Chelsea are edging closer to clinching the signature of manager Roberto Martinez’s prized possession. £10m-rated 21-year-old forward Victor Moses is preparing to call Stamford Bridge home as negotiations continue between the two clubs.
Wigan have already secured his replacements, in the shape of Arsenal winger Ryo Miyaichi and Ivory Coast striker Arouna Koné, therefore decreasing the already slim chances of the explosive Moses turning out for Wigan against Chelsea and running the risk of potential injury.
