Wigan Athletic will be desperate for all three points when they travel to Norwich in the English Premier League Saturday.
The Latics are precariously placed in the relegation zone, following a poor run of form, and Roberto Martinez will want to send his team on their way up the table with a victory over Norwich, who have pulled off a few remarkable wins at Carrow Road already.
Wigan are 18th on 15 points from 16 matches, while Norwich are in 12th, seven points better off than their opponents.
"We know that the table in December gives you an indication, but we also know that our recent performances have been good and solid," Martinez told reporters.
"We are where we want to be in terms of many aspects we're seeing on the pitch, but there are areas of improvement at the same time because the points tally is not what we wanted at this stage.
"At the same time though, I feel we're in a period now that will make us stronger in the final stages of the season.
"We're getting through this period with many players missing and when they return they're going to find it very tough to break back into the team which will in turn develop an even greater competitive edge to the group.
"It's important now though that we start collecting points which our recent performances deserve; I'm happy in many aspects of our performances but now we need consistency in our scorelines also."
Wigan will welcome back Maynor Figueroa from suspension, but the casualty list is still pretty heavy for the away side.
"It's very unlikely that anyone will return this weekend -- the majority of injuries we're dealing with are not long-term but we do have to be careful not to rush players back and risk those injuries getting worse," Martinez added.
"The likes of Ivan Ramis and Gary Caldwell are not far off now but they're still not quite there yet in terms of being able to make a return. After that we have four players who'll still be missing for a longer period of time -- Albert Crusat, Ben Watson, Ryo Miyaichi and Antolin Alcaraz who himself is recovering well and could return by the end of the month.
"The good news though is that Maynor Figueroa will return after his suspension and he's used this week really positively to get himself into a good moment of form."
Alex Tettey and Wes Hoolahan, who missed Norwich's Capital One Cup loss to Aston Villa midweek, are expected to return, while a late final call will be taken on Steven Whittaker.
To watch Norwich vs Wigan Live Stream, click here.
Expected lineups: Norwich: Bunn; Martin, Bassong, Whittaker, Garrido; Johnson, Howson, Snodgrass, Hoolahan, Pilkington; Holt.
Wigan: Al Habsi; Boyce, Lopez, Figueroa; tam, Mccarthy, McArthur, Beausejour, Gomez; Di Santo, Kone.
Prediction: 2-1 to Wigan
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