Live Commentary: Wigan Athletic 2-2 Tottenham Hotspur - as it happened

Good afternoon and welcome to Sports Mole's live text commentary of Tottenham Hotspur's Premier League encounter with Wigan Athletic at the DW Stadium.

A win for Spurs today would see Andre Villas-Boas's side climb up to third place in the table as the race for Champions League football intensifies.

Meanwhile, Wigan are in desperate need of the points and a victory will lift the hosts out of the relegation zone on goal difference.

The match is due to start at 3pm.

14 minSarcastic cheers from the Wigan fans as Dembele scuffs a weak shot from 20 yards into the arms of Robles. It's all looking a lot more even out there now thanks to that much-needed equaliser. Wigan could easily have let their heads down but they've fought back admirably.

11 minWhat a response from the home side! Emmerson Boyce climbs highest to head in powerfully from a corner and bring Wigan level. Robles and Figueroa owe him big time.

10 minGOAL! WIGAN 1-1 SPURS (BOYCE)

9 minWhat a nightmare goal for Wigan to concede. Robles and Figueroa decided to pass the ball casually between them inside the area before Bale charges down the goalkeeper and sees the attempted clearance bounce off him and into the net. That is quite ridiculous.

8 minGOAL! WIGAN 0-1 SPURS (BALE)

6 minTottenham are very much settling into this one now. The hosts are looking slightly nervous on the ball, while the visitors are passing and pressing a lot better.

4 minOFF THE POST! Spurs nearly take the lead from Huddlestone's free kick but it crashes back off the post! The midfielder surprised everyone by going for goal from the tighest of angles, but his deceptive effort nearly crept in at the near post.

2 minAn early half-chance for the visitors as Bale glances his header wide from Huddlestone's free kick. Both sides enjoying plenty of the ball in the opening minutes.

0 minThe respective managers give each other a very friendly hello down on the touchline and it will be Tottenham to get us underway...

2.56pmWEATHER UPDATE: It's a bright, sunny day at the DW Stadium, with a smattering of clouds in the sky.

2.54pmSo then, how do you see this one going today? Wigan have already upset Spurs this season but can lightning strike twice? You be a brave person to think that it could as today's visitors look rejuvenated in their quest for Champions League football.

2.41pmUPDATE: The full-time whistle has gone at Upton Park as the first Premier League fixture of the day comes to and end and Manchester City have beaten West Ham United 2-1 thanks to goals from Sergio Aguero and Yaya Toure. Andy Carroll pulled one back for the Hammers late on, but it was not enough.

2.36pmTottenham's charge for Champions League football looked to have taken a blow last month with consecutive defeats to Liverpool and Fulham, but last weekend's 3-1 win over Manchester City has given them a timely boost.

2.33pmWIGAN'S RECENT FORM (PREVIOUS SIX GAMES): LWWDLL

2.30pmThat win lifted the Latics up to the heady heights of 12th place in the table but it has been a downward spiral for them since then, picking up just an additional 20 points from 23 games.

2.27pmWigan's record against Spurs in recent years makes pretty grim reading, losing eight of their 16 previous encounter and winning just three. However, one of those rare triumphs came back in November when Ben Watson's goal earned them an unlikely 1-0 victory at White Hart Lane.

2.24pmSPURS SUBS: Friedel, Lennon, Sigurdsson, Holtby, Assou-Ekotto, Caulker, Carroll

2.22pmWIGAN SUBS: Al Habsi, Caldwell, Watson, Di Santo, Henriquez, Espinoza, Stam

2.21pmMeanwhile, Tottenham have brought in three new faces in the form of Kyle Naughton, Tom Huddlestone and Jermain Defoe. Benoit Assou-Ekotto, Gylfi Sigurdsson and Emmanuel Adebayor are those to make way.

2.18pmSo, Wigan have made two changes to the side that lost 2-0 at West Ham United last weekend as James McArthur and Jean Beausejour replace Gary Caldwell and the injured Antolin Alcaraz.

2.17pmSPURS: Lloris; Walker, Dawson, Vertonghen, Naughton; Dembele, Huddlestone, Parker; Dempsey, Defoe, Bale

2.16pmWIGAN: Robles; Boyce, Figueroa, Scharner; McManaman, McArthur, McCarthy, Maloney, Gomez; Beausejour, Kone

2.14pmMartinez recently told BBC Sport: "Every game is a must-win game. You look at the amount of points we have and it is not enough."

2.12pmNeedless to say that the cliches have been rolled out ahead of this match, with Wigan boss Roberto Martinez claiming that all of his team's fixtures from now until the end of the season are "must-win"...

2.10pmIt's a different story completely for Wigan, who start the match in the relegation zone on goal difference. Victory against Spurs would move them out of the drop zone and put pressure on Aston Villa, who face Sunderland on Monday.

2.07pmA win for today's visitors will take them up to third place in the table as they try to muscle their way into the top four. However, even a draw would see them stay in fifth place on goal difference.

2.03pmBoth of these sides have very different priorities right now as Spurs fight for Champions League qualification while Wigan slug it out at the bottom of the table yet again.

2pmHello there and welcome to Sports Mole's live text coverage of today's Premier League match between Wigan Athletic and Tottenham Hotspur at the DW Stadium.

Live Commentary: Wigan Athletic 2-2 Tottenham Hotspur - as it happened

Teams mentioned in this article :

Wigan Athletic

Tottenham Hotspur

Tottenham Hotspur

Wigan Athletic