Roberto Martinez has admitted his side will need to be “perfect” if they are to beat Chelsea in the Premier League on Saturday as he warned Wigan (14/1 in the match betting) they must put on a much better show than the dreadful 4-0 reverse against Blackpool last weekend.
Wigan were humbled by the newly-promoted Seasiders in what was the shock result on the opening-day of the Premier League season last Saturday.
Martinez’s men will be desperate to bounce back this weekend but face the toughest of tests when champions Chelsea visit the DW Stadium for Saturday’s evening kick off.
The Wigan boss has nothing but admiration for Carlo Ancelotti’s side and is well aware how difficult a game it will be for his side, but he insists if they can perform to their best then Latics can be a match for anyone in the division.
“Chelsea in my eyes have the strongest squad in the league, but we’re ready to react from our disappointment and be competitive in a game we showed last season we’re capable of winning,” said Martinez on the club’s website.
“They’ve been working together as a squad for a number of seasons and have had tremendous results.
“Everything you look for in a successful team; experience, strength, power and quality they possess in big amounts.”
Martinez only has injury worries over Gary Caldwell and Victor Moses ahead of the game and he wants his side to put on as good a performance as possible to at least give themselves a chance of causing an upset themselves on week two of the Premier League (Wigan 6/5 to be relegated).
“We need to be perfect in everything we do, learning lessons from last weekend’s game,” he added.
“Overall last season gave us the experience of how to play against these sides. But we have to match them off the ball and work really hard. We have enough quality to create chances and score goals, but everything else needs to be perfect as well.”
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