Good afternoon and welcome to Sports Mole's live text commentary of Tottenham Hotspur's Premier League encounter with Wigan Athletic at the DW Stadium.
A win for Spurs today would see Andre Villas-Boas's side climb up to third place in the table as the race for Champions League football intensifies.
Meanwhile, Wigan are in desperate need of the points and a victory will lift the hosts out of the relegation zone on goal difference.
The match is due to start at 3pm.
Hello there and welcome to Sports Mole's live text coverage of today's Premier League match between Wigan Athletic and Tottenham Hotspur at the DW Stadium.
Both of these sides have very different priorities right now as Spurs fight for Champions League qualification while Wigan slug it out at the bottom of the table yet again.
A win for today's visitors will take them up to third place in the table as they try to muscle their way into the top four. However, even a draw would see them stay in fifth place on goal difference.
It's a different story completely for Wigan, who start the match in the relegation zone on goal difference. Victory against Spurs would move them out of the drop zone and put pressure on Aston Villa, who face Sunderland on Monday.
Needless to say that the cliches have been rolled out ahead of this match, with Wigan boss Roberto Martinez claiming that all of his team's fixtures from now until the end of the season are "must-win"...
Martinez recently told BBC Sport: "Every game is a must-win game. You look at the amount of points we have and it is not enough."
WIGAN: Robles; Boyce, Figueroa, Scharner; McManaman, McArthur, McCarthy, Maloney, Gomez; Beausejour, Kone
SPURS: Lloris; Walker, Dawson, Vertonghen, Naughton; Dembele, Huddlestone, Parker; Dempsey, Defoe, Bale
So, Wigan have made two changes to the side that lost 2-0 at West Ham United last weekend as James McArthur and Jean Beausejour replace Gary Caldwell and the injured Antolin Alcaraz.
Meanwhile, Tottenham have brought in three new faces in the form of Kyle Naughton, Tom Huddlestone and Jermain Defoe. Benoit Assou-Ekotto, Gylfi Sigurdsson and Emmanuel Adebayor are those to make way.
WIGAN SUBS: Al Habsi, Caldwell, Watson, Di Santo, Henriquez, Espinoza, Stam
SPURS SUBS: Friedel, Lennon, Sigurdsson, Holtby, Assou-Ekotto, Caulker, Carroll
Wigan's record against Spurs in recent years makes pretty grim reading, losing eight of their 16 previous encounter and winning just three. However, one of those rare triumphs came back in November when Ben Watson's goal earned them an unlikely 1-0 victory at White Hart Lane.
That win lifted the Latics up to the heady heights of 12th place in the table but it has been a downward spiral for them since then, picking up just an additional 20 points from 23 games.
WIGAN'S RECENT FORM (PREVIOUS SIX GAMES): LWWDLL
Tottenham's charge for Champions League football looked to have taken a blow last month with consecutive defeats to Liverpool and Fulham, but last weekend's 3-1 win over Manchester City has given them a timely boost.
UPDATE: The full-time whistle has gone at Upton Park as the first Premier League fixture of the day comes to and end and Manchester City have beaten West Ham United 2-1 thanks to goals from Sergio Aguero and Yaya Toure. Andy Carroll pulled one back for the Hammers late on, but it was not enough.
So then, how do you see this one going today? Wigan have already upset Spurs this season but can lightning strike twice? You be a brave person to think that it could as today's visitors look rejuvenated in their quest for Champions League football.
WEATHER UPDATE: It's a bright, sunny day at the DW Stadium, with a smattering of clouds in the sky.
The respective managers give each other a very friendly hello down on the touchline and it will be Tottenham to get us underway...
An early half-chance for the visitors as Bale glances his header wide from Huddlestone's free kick. Both sides enjoying plenty of the ball in the opening minutes.
OFF THE POST! Spurs nearly take the lead from Huddlestone's free kick but it crashes back off the post! The midfielder surprised everyone by going for goal from the tighest of angles, but his deceptive effort nearly crept in at the near post.
Tottenham are very much settling into this one now. The hosts are looking slightly nervous on the ball, while the visitors are passing and pressing a lot better.
GOAL! WIGAN 0-1 SPURS (BALE)
What a nightmare goal for Wigan to concede. Robles and Figueroa decided to pass the ball casually between them inside the area before Bale charges down the goalkeeper and sees the attempted clearance bounce off him and into the net. That is quite ridiculous.
GOAL! WIGAN 1-1 SPURS (BOYCE)
What a response from the home side! Emmerson Boyce climbs highest to head in powerfully from a corner and bring Wigan level. Robles and Figueroa owe him big time.
Sarcastic cheers from the Wigan fans as Dembele scuffs a weak shot from 20 yards into the arms of Robles. It's all looking a lot more even out there now thanks to that much-needed equaliser. Wigan could easily have let their heads down but they've fought back admirably.
Apologies for the break in transmission there; we experienced some technical difficulties here at Sports Mole. It's still 1-1 between the sides at the DW Stadium.
CHANCE! Defoe shows great control to bring down Vertonghen's sweeping pass in the area, but his shot is blocked by Figueroa.
Spurs threaten with a quick counter-attack that sees Bale play Walker in down the right side. The full-back cross reaches Defoe on the edge of the box before Parker lashes his shot over the bar from 20 yards.
Figueroa is down receiving treatment at the moment. He hurt himself when he blocked Defoe's shot a few minutes ago. The stretcher is one and it looks like his day is done.
SUBSTITUTION: Figueroa is indeed off an it is Ronnie Stam who replaces him.
Walker is set free down the right again, but this time his cross evades everyone in the box. Spurs are continuing to probe here and don't look to frustrated by their opponents.
SUBSTITUTION: Tottenham are being forced into a change here as Moussa Dembele comes off for Lewis Holtby. The midfielder looks like he's picked up a slight knock on his ankle.
The hosts are giving as good as good as they're getting as we move towards the end of the first half here at the DW Stadium. They don't have the flair of Spurs but they're fighting hard in midfield.
CHANCE! Tottenham come close to going back in front as Bale heads over from Defoe's cross. The winger jumped highest at the back post but just couldn't keep his effort down.
SAVE! A bit of a scramble in the Wigan area as Defoe tries to get his shot away. However, the striker takes too long and is snuffed out before Robles comes off his line to deny Parker. Meanwhile, Gomez is booked for a foul on Holtby.
HALF TIME: WIGAN 1-1 SPURS
The half-time whistle goes at the DW Stadium and the sides go in level at 1-1.
Wigan's afternoon got off to a disastrous start as some indecision between Robles and Figueroa allowed Bale to open the scoring, but the hosts fought back instantly thanks to Boyce's equaliser from a corner.
All in all, that was a very entertaining opening 45 minutes of football. Spurs have dominated for the majority, but Wigan are still very much in this thanks to some resolute defending and the occasional counter-attack.
There are three other matches currently being played in the Premier League so here come the half-time scores...
PREMIER LEAGUE HALF-TIME SCORES:
Everton 1-0 Fulham
Southampton 0-1 West Bromwich Albion
Stoke City 0-0 Norwich City
Okay then, the players are back out and it will be Wigan to get this second half underway...
GOAL! WIGAN 2-1 SPURS (MCMANAMAN)
Wigan lead and it's Callum McManaman with a wonderful strike to put them in front. The youngster collected the ball on the edge of the box before cutting onto his left foot and firing a powerful drive into the top corner. It's hist first Premier League goal and what a time to get it!
Spurs come close to equalising instantly much as Wigan did in the first half but the Welshman heads over Huddlestone's free kick. Replays show that the last touch was a Wigan one, only for a goal kick to be given.
He might have grabbed his side's opening goal, but Gareth Bale has been very quiet this afternoon.
A moment of panic in the Spurs penalty area as Lloris spills Beausejour's cross. However, the Frenchman recovers well to gather the loose ball. Nervy times for the away side right now.
Wigan are making life so difficult for Spurs at the moment. The hosts are defending very compactly, holding a great shape and getting plenty of bodies behind the ball.
A great example of Wigan's stifling tactics is in evidence there as Bale gets crowded out by two opponents on the touchline. He was trying to make a trademark darting run into the area but got nowhere near it.
There are a few tasty tackles flying in from both sides now. Spurs need to keep their calm as they search for an equaliser. Around 20 minutes left in this one and the visitors will know that they still have a chance.
Spurs mess around with the ball down on the left side before Assou-Ekotto finally puts in a cross that Robles gets down to hold.
SUBSTITUTION: The visitors make their final change of the afternoon as Aaron Lennon replaces Scott Parker. Can the winger get his side back into this?
Wigan continue to show great stamina here, chasing everything down with real enthusiasm. Spurs haven't been allowed to play today and all credit to the hosts for that.
SUBSTITUTION: Now it's Wigan's turn to make their final change as Roger Espinoza comes on for Jordi Gomez
Written by
Jack Prescott
Jack Prescott
