Wigan Athletic against Chelsea

Freekick to Wigan - 40 yards out. It'll need to be special to beat Cech from here...

Camara does well to nip the ball off Essien's toe as Wigan press on

Anelka is taken off and on comes Malouda with Scolari's instructions ringing in his ears.

Cech claims the ball and wins a foul into the bargain.

Kapo's shot draws a smart save from Cech - corner to Wigan!

Chelsea clinging on now as Wigan go all out.

A change for Wigan. On comes Henri Camera as they hunt for a goal. Off goes Melchiot, who did a good job and also got a standing ovation for his efforts.

Lamps takes it short to Deco but Cattermole is there to disrupt the training ground move.

Back to the corner. Lamps to take.

Trouble for Chelsea. He's limping off the pitch with a hamstring injury. On in his place comes Wayne Bridge.

Bramble is lucky all he gave away then was a corner; he tried to tackle Anelka and didn't, instead he nearly fouled his man in the box.

Chelse have got 10 minutes to hold on - can Wigan get a deserved leveller?

Figueroa looked to have handled in the Chelsea box, but the away side break clear

Palacios leaves the pitch to a standing ovation. He his replaced by Olivier Kapo - who scored on his Premier League debut last season against Cheslea.

Good corner from De Ridder, but JT reads it and clears, but not far enough and Chelsea back under pressure yet again.

Strong running from Zaki - he wins a corner. The crowd love his effort.

With a sniff of glory Cattermole lashes a shot high and wide when a man had just got clear of his marker to his right. It was a great move which ended in a wild shot. Shame, but again great stuff from Wigan.

De Ridder has a half chance, but the ball doesn't quite drop and his shot is weak.

Ballack and Anelka really need to work on their communication - neither seems to be aware what the other is going to do and as a result a decent opening goes begging.

Carvalho is booked, harshly. The ref said he blocked Zaki, it looked more like Zaki just fell over his own legs.

Freekick to Wigan. They send all the big boys up, but De Ridder's clipped ball is not good enough.

Perhaps it is down to Essien's lack of match fitness, but the shielding of the Chelsea defence has been lacking today.

De Ridder can't believe his bad luck as he slips in the box just as he looked to have beaten Terry.

Wigan are fighting for every loose ball; and the crowd have found their voice again.

Zaki is working very hard and winning praise from the home fans for his efforts.

Cattermole has been impressive today - holding his own against Lampard and Ballack. He might be a hot head at times, but he's been quite reserved today, spreading play and winning 50-50 balls.

Cattermole with a perfectly-timed blocking tackle prevents Lampard getting a shot on goal.

The crowd are a little down - they feel Wigan's chance has gone. They can play a part and get behind their side who have done brilliantly so far.

The difficulty for Wigan is that frustration will soon begin to creep into their game. They've played well but are finding it tough to breaktrhough the Chelsea backline. They need to keep plugging away.

Chelsea's corner is dealt with and Wigan are back on the ball.

He does beat the first man, but Cech leaps and claims before hoofing the ball all the way to the other end of the pitch catching out his opposite number Pollit who concedes a corner for Chelsea.

Wigan win a corner - let's beat the first man Mr De Ridder.

The game has been engaging thanks to the industry of Wigan, but we're a bit light on goals.

An injury to Paul Scharner gave Bramble his place in the Wigan side today - no horrific moments of embarrassment for him yet today.

Pressure from Chelsea just not quite in paying off - Bosingwa with a smart ball played square into the box on the deck; but Bramble cut it out easily.

Anelka fails to connect with a lofted pass from Lampard. Good defending from Emerson Boyce, the former Luton Town and Crystal Palace man getting the measure of Anelka so far today.

Essien in smartly to rob Valencia and stem a promising Wigan passing move.

The addition of Kalou, a second striker alongside Anelka, could spark Chelsea who have not threatened as much as they would have hoped so far in this game.

Joe Cole's work is over. He trudges off a little unhappy with his perfromance today. On in his place is Solomon Kalou.

What is it with footballers and corners? This time De Ridder fails to beat the first man. Poor.

Corner to Wigan.

JT heads firmly clear after De Ridder crossed into the danger area.

Cattermole is caught in possession by Ballack and the German releases Deco; Cattermole is lucky the move breaks down because he was mugged there and very much at fault.

Joe Cole keeps poessession despite the attentions of Bramble - Chelsea playing keep ball, pinging passes across the pitch as they now probe Wigan and look to frustrate the home side and fans.

Another poorly executed corner by Chelsea and Wigan win a goalkick.

Lampard runs the ball to the byline, gets in behind the last man, but his pull-back is defelcted for a corner.

Zaki takes a chunk out of Terry who is down and in some pain - it takes a lot to fell JT. Zaki is quick to apologise, but JT does not look too happy - perhaps he will exact his revenge later...

The Chelsea midfield of Lampard, Ballack, Essien and Deco for all its glamour and ability have yet to really fire, particualrly this half. Clearly gifted players, but Wigan are proving tricky customers.

Cattermole will get a booking here. He's just clattered into Essien; he went for the ball but he was late and it was a little dangerous.

Bosingwa with some good defending to deny both Zaki and Valencia.

Lampard on the ball in the centre of the pitch - the magic spray clearly worked on Frankie.

De Ridder tries to thread a pass towards Zaki, but it just over-hit.

Bad news for Wigan; The magic spray did not fix Jason Koumas and his game is over. As the second half begins on in his stead comes Daniel De Ridder.

Chelsea not at their fluid best but are ahead. Wigan are looking confident and competent and are still in this game. Chelsea will need to improve if they are to close out this game in the second half.

Half-time.

Wigan still fighting for the equalisier - as they spread passes across the pitch probing for an opening.

Scoalri looks a little unimpressed as he frowns from the bench. Chin-up Felipe, you're winning.

Two minutes of added time signalled

Koumas aims a freekick at Titus Bramble but Cech is quick to come off his line and win the ball to stop the threat.

Despite the scoreline Wigan can afford themselves a pat on the back for thier performances in the first half. They played well and been unlucky not to get back on level terms.

Magic spray all round as Koumas and Lampard are taking treatment.

Koumas tries and fails to dribble his way out of trouble and almost pays the price as Anelka almost wins a penalty for Chelsea in the resulting attack.

Freekick to a Chelsea - much to the annoyance of the Wigan fans who were not impressed with Ashley Cole's fall under presure from Cattermole.

Ballack and Deco almost in eachothers way as they look to get hold the ball

Cech with a punch clears the danger after a Wigan corner.

Ashley Cole clips the ball in towards Anekla, but he can get his header on target

Freekick to the visitors level with the 18-yard box, but just in from the touchline.

For all Wigan's pressure Chelsea never really looked too troubled, which is a sign of their mental strength. While Wigan threatened Chelsea were equal to the challenge.

Chelsea look to be finding their feet and their passes and Chelsea's attack only comes to an end when Joe Cole fouls Figueroa - and gets a boot in the face for his troubles.

Steve Bruce doesn't look too happy, though.

Zaki and Essien clash, but the ref steps in and a drop ball is not contested by Wigan and a warm spell of applause meets the sportsmanship.

Anelka on the break just fails to thread a ball through to Joe Cole.

Palacios, Valencia and Zaki are looking good; great touches, good passing, thoughtful movement - great stuff and the fans love it.

Valencia tries to beat Deco, but is tackled. Wigan set up camp in the Chelsea half.

Pollit claims the ball after a pass from Lampard finds nothing but empty space - poor movement from Chelsea in the last few moments. They've gone defensive and a unwilling to risk the forward run.

Great stuff from Wigan. Totally at ease playing a last year's Premier League runners-up and giving them a few headaches.

Cech forced to make another smart stop as Wigan enjoy a spell of possession in the final third; Chelsea with nine men behind the ball.

Melchiot drops a shoulder and dips by Deco - he might regret showing up the tricky Portugese!

Lampard looks to be limping a little - must be the weight of his wallet.

A volley from Ashley Cole fails to threaten the Wigan goal, but only just.

Wigan left back Maynor Figueroa is doing his bit offering support down the left flank - he'll need to make sure he doesn't get caught out and undone by Bosingwa.

Chelsea having a nice spell of possession after weathering Wigan's strong showing of the last five minutes.

Deco has a touch of the Lampards - his corner doesn't beat the first man either.

Michael Essien sweeps a pass back to Cech to prevent Palacios from getting a sniff at goal.

Melchiot seeing a lot of the ball; almost playing as a libero, bringing the ball out of defence and then looking for the killer pass. An interesting role for the former Blue - let's see if he's up to it.

A much better ball, this time it finds the forehead of Carvalho who heads just over. Goalkick to Wigan.

A pretty poor corner fails to beat the first man; Titus Bramble. But there's a second corner for Frank to improve with.

A moment of respite for Chelsea as they win a corner - which Frank Lampard will take.

Cech nearly caught out by Wilson Palacios' lofted ball in toward the back post; no attackers were there but Palacios' cross threatened the goal, but Cech watched it dip a fraction wide.

JT booked for... well not much really.

Good delivery from Koumas, but Ricardo Carvalho is equal to it and Chelsea clear. However, Wigan are soon back on the ball and probing the Chelsea defences.

Wigan might be behind, but they are not in awe of the Kings Road millionaires as they win a corner.

Jason Koumas floats a nice ball into the box, but John Terry marshals Heskey and the chance goes begging.

Lee Cattermole and Michael Ballack are called to the ref who is a little unhappy with their tussling. Naughty boys.

Zaki, Melchiot and Valencia work a nice move down the right flank; but the final ball is picked out of the sku by Cech. Nice football from Wigan - they like to play, that's for sure.

Jose Bosingwa on foray down the Wigan right causes some problems for Emerson Boyce in the Wigan defence.

Threaten they do - with Cech forced into smart save, which bounces just out of Emile Heskey's reach preventing him from a follow-up effort.

Former Chelsea man Mario Melchiot clips a freekick from his own half deep into Chelsea territory as Wigan look to threaten

I wonder how long it will take before Ballack and Lampard start getting grumpy about Deco taking freekicks - when he starts missing I suppose.

Cech called into action; saving a header from Zaki as Wigan burst forward to try and get back on terms.

Not an ideal start for Wigan. A clumsy freekick conceded on the edge of the box and Deco stepped up to punish the home side.

Deco clips a delicious free-kick up and over the Wigan wall and beyond the despairing dive of Pollitt to open the scorig. Great freekick.

Deco scores!!

Bright day in Wigan, the pitch bathed in late summer sun. The match yet to spark. Could you tell?

Wigan's keeper for today is Mike Pollitt. He replaces Chris Kirkland who injured his back in the warm-up. Poor Kirkland - made of glass that lad.

Today's referee is Alan Wiley and the Staffordshire man blows his whistle and we are underway!

The two teams are on the pitch and we are just moments away from kick-off.

And for Chelsea: Cech, Bosingwa, Carvalho, Terry, Ashley Cole, Ballack, Essien, Lampard, Deco, Anelka, Joe Cole. And on the Subs bench: Hilario, Ivanovic, Malouda, Bridge, Kalou, Alex, Belletti.

Team news. Lining up for Wigan: Pollitt, Melchiot, Boyce, Bramble, Figueroa, Valencia, Cattermole, Palacios, Koumas, Heskey, Zaki. And the subs: Nash, Sibierski, Kilbane, Brown, De Ridder, Kapo, Camara.

Good afternoon. If you want coverage of today's game between Wigan and Chelsea you've come to the right place! All the action from kick-off at 13.30 UK time on Sunday. Let's hope there's goals!

Strong running from Zaki - he wins a corner. The crowd love his effort.

With a sniff of glory Cattermole lashes a shot high and wide when a man had just got clear of his marker to his right. It was a great move which ended in a wild shot. Shame, but again great stuff from Wigan.

De Ridder has a half chance, but the ball doesn't quite drop and his shot is weak.

Ballack and Anelka really need to work on their communication - neither seems to be aware what the other is going to do and as a result a decent opening goes begging.

Carvalho is booked, harshly. The ref said he blocked Zaki, it looked more like Zaki just fell over his own legs.

Freekick to Wigan. They send all the big boys up, but De Ridder's clipped ball is not good enough.

Perhaps it is down to Essien's lack of match fitness, but the shielding of the Chelsea defence has been lacking today.

De Ridder can't believe his bad luck as he slips in the box just as he looked to have beaten Terry.

Wigan are fighting for every loose ball; and the crowd have found their voice again.

Zaki is working very hard and winning praise from the home fans for his efforts.

Cattermole has been impressive today - holding his own against Lampard and Ballack. He might be a hot head at times, but he's been quite reserved today, spreading play and winning 50-50 balls.

Cattermole with a perfectly-timed blocking tackle prevents Lampard getting a shot on goal.

The crowd are a little down - they feel Wigan's chance has gone. They can play a part and get behind their side who have done brilliantly so far.

The difficulty for Wigan is that frustration will soon begin to creep into their game. They've played well but are finding it tough to breaktrhough the Chelsea backline. They need to keep plugging away.

Chelsea's corner is dealt with and Wigan are back on the ball.

He does beat the first man, but Cech leaps and claims before hoofing the ball all the way to the other end of the pitch catching out his opposite number Pollit who concedes a corner for Chelsea.

Wigan win a corner - let's beat the first man Mr De Ridder.

The game has been engaging thanks to the industry of Wigan, but we're a bit light on goals.

An injury to Paul Scharner gave Bramble his place in the Wigan side today - no horrific moments of embarrassment for him yet today.

Pressure from Chelsea just not quite in paying off - Bosingwa with a smart ball played square into the box on the deck; but Bramble cut it out easily.

Anelka fails to connect with a lofted pass from Lampard. Good defending from Emerson Boyce, the former Luton Town and Crystal Palace man getting the measure of Anelka so far today.

Essien in smartly to rob Valencia and stem a promising Wigan passing move.

The addition of Kalou, a second striker alongside Anelka, could spark Chelsea who have not threatened as much as they would have hoped so far in this game.

Joe Cole's work is over. He trudges off a little unhappy with his perfromance today. On in his place is Solomon Kalou.

What is it with footballers and corners? This time De Ridder fails to beat the first man. Poor.

Corner to Wigan.

JT heads firmly clear after De Ridder crossed into the danger area.

Cattermole is caught in possession by Ballack and the German releases Deco; Cattermole is lucky the move breaks down because he was mugged there and very much at fault.

Joe Cole keeps poessession despite the attentions of Bramble - Chelsea playing keep ball, pinging passes across the pitch as they now probe Wigan and look to frustrate the home side and fans.

Another poorly executed corner by Chelsea and Wigan win a goalkick.

Lampard runs the ball to the byline, gets in behind the last man, but his pull-back is defelcted for a corner.

Zaki takes a chunk out of Terry who is down and in some pain - it takes a lot to fell JT. Zaki is quick to apologise, but JT does not look too happy - perhaps he will exact his revenge later...

The Chelsea midfield of Lampard, Ballack, Essien and Deco for all its glamour and ability have yet to really fire, particualrly this half. Clearly gifted players, but Wigan are proving tricky customers.

Cattermole will get a booking here. He's just clattered into Essien; he went for the ball but he was late and it was a little dangerous.

Bosingwa with some good defending to deny both Zaki and Valencia.

Lampard on the ball in the centre of the pitch - the magic spray clearly worked on Frankie.

De Ridder tries to thread a pass towards Zaki, but it just over-hit.

Bad news for Wigan; The magic spray did not fix Jason Koumas and his game is over. As the second half begins on in his stead comes Daniel De Ridder.

Chelsea not at their fluid best but are ahead. Wigan are looking confident and competent and are still in this game. Chelsea will need to improve if they are to close out this game in the second half.

Half-time.

Wigan still fighting for the equalisier - as they spread passes across the pitch probing for an opening.

Scoalri looks a little unimpressed as he frowns from the bench. Chin-up Felipe, you're winning.

Two minutes of added time signalled

Koumas aims a freekick at Titus Bramble but Cech is quick to come off his line and win the ball to stop the threat.

Despite the scoreline Wigan can afford themselves a pat on the back for thier performances in the first half. They played well and been unlucky not to get back on level terms.

Magic spray all round as Koumas and Lampard are taking treatment.

Koumas tries and fails to dribble his way out of trouble and almost pays the price as Anelka almost wins a penalty for Chelsea in the resulting attack.

Freekick to a Chelsea - much to the annoyance of the Wigan fans who were not impressed with Ashley Cole's fall under presure from Cattermole.

Ballack and Deco almost in eachothers way as they look to get hold the ball

Cech with a punch clears the danger after a Wigan corner.

Ashley Cole clips the ball in towards Anekla, but he can get his header on target

Freekick to the visitors level with the 18-yard box, but just in from the touchline.

For all Wigan's pressure Chelsea never really looked too troubled, which is a sign of their mental strength. While Wigan threatened Chelsea were equal to the challenge.

Chelsea look to be finding their feet and their passes and Chelsea's attack only comes to an end when Joe Cole fouls Figueroa - and gets a boot in the face for his troubles.

Steve Bruce doesn't look too happy, though.

Zaki and Essien clash, but the ref steps in and a drop ball is not contested by Wigan and a warm spell of applause meets the sportsmanship.

Anelka on the break just fails to thread a ball through to Joe Cole.

Palacios, Valencia and Zaki are looking good; great touches, good passing, thoughtful movement - great stuff and the fans love it.

Valencia tries to beat Deco, but is tackled. Wigan set up camp in the Chelsea half.

Pollit claims the ball after a pass from Lampard finds nothing but empty space - poor movement from Chelsea in the last few moments. They've gone defensive and a unwilling to risk the forward run.

Great stuff from Wigan. Totally at ease playing a last year's Premier League runners-up and giving them a few headaches.

Cech forced to make another smart stop as Wigan enjoy a spell of possession in the final third; Chelsea with nine men behind the ball.

Melchiot drops a shoulder and dips by Deco - he might regret showing up the tricky Portugese!

Lampard looks to be limping a little - must be the weight of his wallet.

A volley from Ashley Cole fails to threaten the Wigan goal, but only just.

Wigan left back Maynor Figueroa is doing his bit offering support down the left flank - he'll need to make sure he doesn't get caught out and undone by Bosingwa.

Chelsea having a nice spell of possession after weathering Wigan's strong showing of the last five minutes.

Deco has a touch of the Lampards - his corner doesn't beat the first man either.

Michael Essien sweeps a pass back to Cech to prevent Palacios from getting a sniff at goal.

Melchiot seeing a lot of the ball; almost playing as a libero, bringing the ball out of defence and then looking for the killer pass. An interesting role for the former Blue - let's see if he's up to it.

A much better ball, this time it finds the forehead of Carvalho who heads just over. Goalkick to Wigan.

A pretty poor corner fails to beat the first man; Titus Bramble. But there's a second corner for Frank to improve with.

A moment of respite for Chelsea as they win a corner - which Frank Lampard will take.

Cech nearly caught out by Wilson Palacios' lofted ball in toward the back post; no attackers were there but Palacios' cross threatened the goal, but Cech watched it dip a fraction wide.

JT booked for... well not much really.

Good delivery from Koumas, but Ricardo Carvalho is equal to it and Chelsea clear. However, Wigan are soon back on the ball and probing the Chelsea defences.

Wigan might be behind, but they are not in awe of the Kings Road millionaires as they win a corner.

Jason Koumas floats a nice ball into the box, but John Terry marshals Heskey and the chance goes begging.

Lee Cattermole and Michael Ballack are called to the ref who is a little unhappy with their tussling. Naughty boys.

Zaki, Melchiot and Valencia work a nice move down the right flank; but the final ball is picked out of the sku by Cech. Nice football from Wigan - they like to play, that's for sure.

Jose Bosingwa on foray down the Wigan right causes some problems for Emerson Boyce in the Wigan defence.

Threaten they do - with Cech forced into smart save, which bounces just out of Emile Heskey's reach preventing him from a follow-up effort.

Former Chelsea man Mario Melchiot clips a freekick from his own half deep into Chelsea territory as Wigan look to threaten

I wonder how long it will take before Ballack and Lampard start getting grumpy about Deco taking freekicks - when he starts missing I suppose.

Cech called into action; saving a header from Zaki as Wigan burst forward to try and get back on terms.

Not an ideal start for Wigan. A clumsy freekick conceded on the edge of the box and Deco stepped up to punish the home side.

Deco clips a delicious free-kick up and over the Wigan wall and beyond the despairing dive of Pollitt to open the scorig. Great freekick.

Deco scores!!

Bright day in Wigan, the pitch bathed in late summer sun. The match yet to spark. Could you tell?

Wigan's keeper for today is Mike Pollitt. He replaces Chris Kirkland who injured his back in the warm-up. Poor Kirkland - made of glass that lad.

Today's referee is Alan Wiley and the Staffordshire man blows his whistle and we are underway!

The two teams are on the pitch and we are just moments away from kick-off.

And for Chelsea: Cech, Bosingwa, Carvalho, Terry, Ashley Cole, Ballack, Essien, Lampard, Deco, Anelka, Joe Cole. And on the Subs bench: Hilario, Ivanovic, Malouda, Bridge, Kalou, Alex, Belletti.

Team news. Lining up for Wigan: Pollitt, Melchiot, Boyce, Bramble, Figueroa, Valencia, Cattermole, Palacios, Koumas, Heskey, Zaki. And the subs: Nash, Sibierski, Kilbane, Brown, De Ridder, Kapo, Camara.

Good afternoon. If you want coverage of today's game between Wigan and Chelsea you've come to the right place! All the action from kick-off at 13.30 UK time on Sunday. Let's hope there's goals!