[Jourdan]

Paul Jewell’s Rams come up against his former club and fellow relegation candidates Wigan Athletic tomorrow. Jewell will be hoping that a host of new signings will inject some fresh impetus into his side’s faltering survival bid.

Last Time At Pride Park

Derby 2-1 Wigan (2004/05 – FA Cup)
Derby 2-2 Wigan (2004/05 – League)

Recent History

Dave Whelan took control of the Latics in February 1995 and the club has gone from strength to strength ever since.

In 1996/97, they won promotion from Division Three (now League Two) and towards the end of 1998/99 season, the club won the Auto Windscreens Trophy with a Wembley victory over Millwall. (now Johnstone’s Paint Trophy). They moved from their previous home Springfield Park to the modern all-seater JJB Stadium ahead of the 1999/2000 season but the move didn’t bring an instant change of fortunes for the club who had endured much despair and managerial changes in their attempts to reach the First Division.

It wasn’t until the arrival of Paul Jewell in 2001/02 that Dave Whelan’s dream of seeing Wigan in the top-flight appeared a reality. In just his second season in charge (2002/03), he guided the Lancashire-based outfit to an emphatic Second Division triumph and after narrowly missing out on the First Division play-offs in their first season, the Latics bounced back and defied the odds by finishing 2nd and gaining automatic promotion in 2004/05, which was also the season the Rams suffered play-off disappointment, losing to Preston in the semi-finals.

Since Whelan’s Premier League dream was realised, the club have had mixed fortunes in the top-flight. In their debut campaign, they performed impressively – finishing 10th and reaching the Carling Cup final where they lost 4-0 to Manchester United. The following season saw them tumble into relegation trouble only for a dramatic last day victory against fellow relegation rivals Sheffield United to steer them clear.

The current season began with a managerial change as current Derby boss Jewell left his post at the JJB Stadium with assistant Chris Hutchings taking charge. However after an encouraging start, Hutchings’ side began to wilt and after 12 games, Hutchings was out of the door after the club had picked up just 2 points since beating Sunderland on August 18th. Former Latics manager Steve Bruce departed Birmingham to become Hutchings’ replacement.

Summer Signings

Chris Hutchings made some shrewd additions to the Wigan squad during the summer, snapping up experienced Premier League players such as Michael Brown, Titus Bramble, Mario Melchiot and Antoine Sibierski. Bramble, Melchiot, Siberski and Cameroonian international Salomon Olembe all arrived on free transfers.

He raided the Championship by bringing West Brom star Jason Koumas to the club for £5.3m, luring Marcus Bent to join on loan from Charlton and making Carlo Nash’s switch from Preston permanent.

The former Bradford boss also swooped for promising youngsters Andreas Granqvist, Tomasz Kupisz and Rachid Bouaouzan.

Steve Bruce recently captured his first signing by enticing Honduran midfielder Wilson Palacios into signing for the club.

Form

Bruce’s return as manager has seen an improvement in the club’s form. During his eight league games in charge, the Latics have won two, drawn three and lost three. Their home form has been key in helping them pull away from the relegation zone, they have picked up 7 points from their previous 4 at home after victories over Blackburn and Newcastle and a draw with Manchester City. But they have also picked up some valuable points on their travels claiming draws against Fulham at Craven Cottage and Liverpool at Anfield. Their three losses under Bruce have come against Arsenal, Bolton and Aston Villa. In their most recent game, they dished out a home defeat to Sunderland in the FA Cup 3rd round, easing to a 3-0 win at the Stadium of Light.

Predicted Line Ups

Derby – Price, Mears, Davis, Todd, Mills, Barnes, Savage, Ghaly, Robert, Miller, Villa

Wigan – Kirkland, Melchiot, Scharner, Bramble, Olembe, Valencia, Palacios, Landzaat, Koumas, Kilbane, Bent

Ones to Watch

Marcus Bent – The on-loan striker has a wealth of Premier League experience and has developed a reputation as a handful for defences with his aerial presence, pace and strength. He has justified the decision to bring him to the club with his 7 goals in 17 league appearances so far, most notably his hat trick in the 5-3 thriller against Blackburn.

Chris Kirkland – The former Liverpool keeper has been an almost ever-present for the Latics this season making 20 Premier League starts. Rams boss Jewell will be very aware of the goalkeeper’s ability to deny the opposition as it was he who initially brought him to the JJB on loan in January 2007.

Paul Scharner – The defensive powerhouse arrived midway through Wigan’s debut Premier League season and has been a big hit. The Austrian international has proved equally capable of playing in central defence or midfield and has had a knack of popping up with important goals for the club. He has made 22 appearances for the club this season, scoring 4 goals.

Key Battles

Villa vs. Scharner – Argentine striker "Tito" Villa will have to get used to the Premier League quickly if he is to cope with the confrontational style of play of intimidating Austrian Paul Scharner.

Davis vs. Bent – Wigan’s top-scorer Bent will be a marked man with former Sheffield United defender Claude Davis looking to prevent the loanee from adding to the seven Premier League goals he has scored so far this season.

Savage vs. Landzaat – Two midfielders with contrasting styles will face off, with both needing to call on all their experience to get the edge over the other.

Odds (courtesy of Ladbrokes.com on 12/1/2008)

Derby to win – 7/4
Draw – 11/5
Wigan to win – 5/4

Virtual Betting

2 bets have been placed on a result in Derby’s favour at odds of 13/8. Other odds include the draw at 11/5 and a Wigan win at 11/8.

Jourdan predicts…2-1