If Tottenham Hotspur want to be right up there contending for the title come the end of the season, these are the sort of games they need to win, and Andre Villas-Boas is sure to drill the importance of picking up all three points against Wigan Athletic to close the gap on the leaders.
Spurs lie fourth, five points behind leaders Chelsea, and welcome Roberto Martinez' men to White Hart Lane on Saturday. The North London side suffered a disappointing defeat to Norwich City in the League Cup in midweek, but Villas-Boas will be concentrating on the recent impressive run of results in the English Premier League.
Martinez, one of the most astute managers in the Premier League, will look at the Spurs game as an opportunity to get a good run behind them after their impressive 2-1 win over West Ham last weekend. However, the Spanish manager, has no doubts about the task that Wigan face against Spurs, especially at White Hart Lane.
"Spurs will be fighting this season for one of those Champions League qualification spots which highlights the strength and size of the team we face this weekend," Martinez said. "The new signings have brought an edge to what was already a strong side with the likes of Gareth Bale and Aaron Lennon in the wide areas now complimented with more central players such as Clint Dempsey and Moussa Dembele.
"Andre Villas-Boas is slowly making his imprint on the side with clear football concepts being put to good use. They played a number of youngsters against Norwich City on Wednesday night so we expect to see a completely different side on Saturday.
"I believe they are growing to become one of the best sides in the Premier League and one of the best in Europe.
"We know it's going to be a tough game for us but our aim is to carry on the good football shown against West Ham United last weekend, taking that level of performance to White Hart Lane to be as good as we can be.
"There are lessons to take from our last two away games against Sunderland and Swansea City, aspects of our game that need to improve if we are to get a positive result on the road. Now is the time to bring consistency in performances and results which is where our focus is right now."
Spurs will be hampered by an injury to Moussa Dembele, who has been ruled out of the game, while Jake Livermore will be assessed a few hours before the match. Emmanuel Adebayor, however, is expected to be fit, and will most likely be named on the substitutes bench.
Wigan do not have any new injury concerns, with Antolin Alcaraz, Ryo Miyaichi and Albert Crusat still missing.
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Expected lineups: Tottenham: Friedel, Walker, Caulker, Gallas, Vertonghen, Sandro, Huddlestone, Lennon, Dempsey, Bale, Defoe.
Wigan: Al Habsi, Ramis, Caldwell, Figueroa, Boyce, McCarthy, McArthur, Beausejour, Di Santo, Maloney, Kone.
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