Premier League preview: Wigan v West Ham

West Ham United will hope to continue their superb start to the English Premier League season with a win at Wigan Athletic on Saturday.

After beating Blackpool in the Championship playoff final last season, the Hammers have enjoyed success in their first season back in the top flight.

Sam Allardyce’s men sit seventh on the table – just one point behind fourth-placed Everton – and recent wins over Queens Park Rangers and Southampton have lifted their spirits.

“This is a fantastic start considering we have just been promoted,” Allardyce told the club’s official website.

“We don’t get too many carried away because the fixtures have been very kind to us. The teams that we have played in our first eight games were very difficult but there’s only Arsenal in there that might be in the top four that we’ve played.

“We’ve done the job better than I expected. We focus on Wigan away now. Can we now go and get our first back-to-back wins in the Premier League?

“When you’ve won a game, to go and try and win the next one is a massive ask. That’s our aim. Wigan haven’t won at home this season so there might be a lack of confidence there.”

West Ham did drop a League Cup match to Wigan in the third round last month, with Roberto Martinez’s side winning 4-1 at Upton Park.

Allardyce branded his side’s defence ‘rubbish’ and ‘comical’ in that match and he will be sure to remind his players of that abject display.

After a bright start to the season, Wigan have won just once since August and that win came against Saturday’s opponents.

They sit 16th on the table and with six of their eight goals having come from Ivorian Arouna Kone and Argentine Franco Di Santo, they have also become predictable.

West Ham have netted 12 goals this season, with four of those coming from influential captain Kevin Nolan.

The former Newcastle midfielder, who led the Hammers to the top flight with 12 Championship goals, has hit the back of the net in two of his last four appearances, while Mark Noble, the longest serving player in West Ham’s current squad, has chipped in with two goals this season.

Saturday’s encounter is sure to keep fans entertained if history is anything to go by, with an incredible 19 goals scored between the two sides in their past four meetings.

Wigan supporters may be quietly confident after witnessing their team emerge victorious in their last two competitive fixtures, including a 4-1 demolition in the League Cup in September.

On the injury front, Wigan pair Antolin Alcaraz and Albert Crusat remain doubts, while Jack Collison, Guy Demel and Alou Diarra are still a few weeks away from action for the Hammers.