Premier League preview: Wigan v Aston Villa

Points are at a premium for both Aston Villa and Wigan, who clash on Saturday at DW Stadium in the English Premier League.

Roberto Martinez’s Wigan side will be looking to move clear of the relegation zone, where they sit on 16 points – level with 17th-placed Fulham – after their goalless draw with Everton at Goodison Park on Sunday in their last league start.

Villa boss Gerard Houllier will be keen to build on his side’s 2-1 triumph over West Brom at Villa Park on Saturday, when he had goals from Stewart Downing and Emile Heskey to thank for lifting his side to 14th place in the league with 20 points from their 17 games.

But for a side that finished sixth on last season’s table and were widely tipped to again be challenging for European football this season before former manager Martin O’Neill’s shock walkout on the eve of the campaign, expectations are higher.

Martinez has been hit hard by suspensions and will be missing both defender Maynor Figeuroa and midfielder Hendry Thomas after the Honduran pair picked up cautions in the Everton game.

The news from the physio is not quite as bad, with striker Victor Moses sure to miss with a dislocated shoulder suffered in their Carling Cup quarter-final loss to Arsenal last month and Ireland winger James McCarthy still battling back from ankle ligament damage.

In better news, Argentinean striker Franco Di Santo could return from an ankle knock after it was revealed he had suffered no ligament damage, and on-loan midfielder Tom Cleverley should play after the rib injury he suffered on Saturday was shown to be nothing more sinister than bruising.

Houllier has injury concerns of his own, with defender Luke Young struggling to recover from a groin injury that kept him out of the West Brom win.

Captain Stilian Petrov is still missing with a knee injury sustained in October while midfielder Steve Sidwell is out with an Achilles complaint.

Long-term casualties Andreas Weimann and Fabian Delph will not be available until well into the new year, but striker Gabriel Agbonlahor should be ready to resume after a chest infection kept him out of the West Brom game.