Wigan striker Hugo Rodallega could be out for up to a month with the knee injury he suffered at Everton.
Emmerson Boyce is a doubt due to a hamstring injury, and Steven Gohouri and Antolin Alcaraz are out.
Tottenham's William Gallas and Aaron Lennon will miss the game with respective calf and groin injuries.
Benoit Assou-Ekotto is struggling with a throat infection, while Niko Kranjcar and Roman Pavlyuchenko are ruled out with hamstring problems.
Usually when you look at the record books in a club's 'record defeat' column it's invariably a game played in the 1880s, conjuring up images of baggy shorts and laced-up footballs. For Wigan it's the 22 November 2009, when they lost 9-1 to Tottenham, and it is a memory which is far too fresh for Roberto Martinez.
For those who believe in superstition it was the newly-appointed manager's 13th Premier League game in charge. Unlucky indeed. After the match he spoke of the need to react and become stronger, and true to his word Wigan won 1-0 the following week. It was, in many ways, a pivotal moment in a talented young coach's career.
Last season, as if to clarify the point still further, Wigan exorcised their White Hart Lane demons completely by winning 1-0 and didn't concede a goal to Spurs home or away.
That victory against Tottenham was secured by Hugo Rodallega, whose absence now for several weeks is an untimely blow for a side that have always struggled to score goals against the game's elite. They've managed just 11 in 12 Premier League meetings with Spurs.
By contrast, Jermain Defoe has netted 10 on his own against Wigan, albeit with half of that total coming on that fateful November afternoon. On 9-1 day he partnered Peter Crouch; now his 'little and large' routine is performed alongside Emmanuel Adebayor. And the early signs are positive, with the duo gathering five goals in their two matches together.
Spurs come into the weekend on the back of two handsome league wins, Wigan off the back of two disappointing defeats. The home side are on an unbeaten six-game run at the DW Stadium and as it's the 13th Premier League meeting between the two teams, who knows for whom it may prove unlucky?
3 Replies
5183 Views