Aston Villa v Wigan

Barclays Premier League
Venue: Villa Park Date: Saturday, 7 May Kick-off: 1500 BST
Coverage: Watch highlights on Match of the Day; listen to live commentary on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra and local radio; text commentary on BBC Sport website and mobiles

TEAM NEWS

Aston Villa forward Emile Heskey has recovered from the knee problem that ruled him out of last weekend’s defeat by West Brom.

Midfielder Jean Makoun will again miss out with the dead leg which prevented him from facing Albion.

Wigan manager Roberto Martinez will wait as long as possible before deciding on the fitness of influential duo Charles N’Zogbia and Mohamed Diame.

Both players were forced off during the 1-1 draw with Everton last weekend.

Aston Villa

Injured: Makoun (dead leg)

Wigan

Doubtful: Diame (groin), N’Zogbia (dead leg)

Injured: Pollitt (elbow)

MATCH PREVIEW

Villa Park is a home from home for Wigan, who have never lost there in the league. They desperately need to maintain that record or else they may not be making the trip to this part of Birmingham next season.

We have to get a win and maybe two draws from the three matches that remain, and we’re more than capable of doing that if we can play to our potential Wigan goalkeeper Ali Al Habsi

Wigan could move out of the relegation zone on Saturday, but a defeat would raise the prospect of them propping up the table by Sunday afternoon. It’s a fine margin between success and failure.

Few neutral observers gave Wigan much of a chance when they were rock bottom with six matches – only two of them at home – to play. However, the recent win at Blackpool and draw with in-form Everton has backed up the claim by manager Roberto Martinez that his side has “clicked.”

Curiously, only one of the 11 Premier League meetings between Aston Villa and Wigan has been won by the home side. Villa need to reverse that trend to guarantee their safety and keep alive their stated aim of a top-10 finish.

MATCH FACTS

Head-to-head

• Aston Villa have drawn two and lost three of their five home league matches with Wigan, scoring only once.

• Wigan have, however, lost the last two meetings – both at the DW Stadium.

• Villa’s only home win against Wigan was by a 5-0 scoreline in the League Cup second round in 1994.

Aston Villa

• Villa have won four of their five matches this season against teams currently in the relegation zone – their only defeat was 1-0 at home against Wolves in March.

• They have dropped 26 points from winning positions, the most in the Premier League.

• If selected, Nigel Reo-Coker will be making his 100th Premier League appearance for Villa.

• Gabriel Agbonlahor needs one goal to reach 50 in the Premier League.

• Emile Heskey scored 15 goals in 88 matches for Wigan between 2006 and 2009.

Wigan

• Wigan have taken nine points from their last nine matches.

• The Latics have the joint-worst goalscoring record in the division: they and Birmingham average a goal per game this season.

• They have only kept one clean sheet in 18 matches and have conceded four or more goals on 11 occasions since the start of last season.

• Roberto Martinez’s side have only scored two headed goals this season – the equal-fewest in the Premier League with Manchester City, according to Infostrada.

LEADING GOALSCORERS

Aston Villa

Bent: 18 goals* (15 league); A Young: 8 goals (6 league)

*Includes 11 goals (8 league) for Sunderland.

Wigan

Rodallega: 8 goals (8 league); N’Zogbia: 7 goals (6 league)

MATCH OFFICIALS

Referee: Mike Jones

Assistant referees: Dave Bryan & Andy Newbold

Fourth official: Lee Mason

LAST LEAGUE MATCH LINE-UPS

Aston Villa (L1-2 v West Brom, a): Friedel; Walker, Collins, Dunne (Clark 51), L Young, Downing, Reo-Coker (Pires 68), Petrov (Albrighton 86), A Young, Agbonlahor, Bent. Subs not used: Marshall, Bradley, Delph, Cuellar.

Wigan (D1-1 v Everton, h): Al Habsi; Boyce, G Caldwell, Alcaraz, Figueroa, Diame (McArthur 44), Watson, N’Zogbia (Moses 54), McCarthy, Cleverley (Di Santo 79), Rodallega. Subs not used: Kirkland, Gohouri, Gomez, Sammon.