Monday Night Football isn’t generally a happy experience for us.  I hate Monday night games, they’re nearly always a real shitfest, and there’s a very distinct possibility this will be too.  Chances are we won’t lose though.  We’ve never lost to Wigan, and they’re in wretched form at the moment, having won only once in 13 games.  Mind you, we haven’t scored in five of our last seven away games, and have drawn blanks in our last three on our travels.  That was without Torres though.

We should have more than enough to beat Wigan, but as always it will depend on how we approach the game.  The worry is that we’ll go and do what we’ve been doing for months.  Sit back, be ‘compact’ and try and nick it by the odd goal.  Prior to Keith Andrews’ penalty last weekend, we hadn’t conceded a first half goal in nine league games since losing to Portsmouth.  That’s an impressive statistic, but it’s also indicative of the approach we’ve adopted.  It’s all about defence first, attack second.  If we do that against Wigan, it’s simply playing into their hands.  They’re much better going forward than they are defending.

Roberto Martinez’s side are terrible at the back, you don’t concede nine goals at White Hart Lane unless you have serious issues in defence.  They’ve got Titus Bramble in there, say no more.  Wigan’s biggest weakness is definitely their defence, and that’s what we should be looking to exploit.  To do that, we need to attack, and attack in numbers and with intent.  That’s something we have not done away from home in a long time.  But we’re getting into the business end of the season now, and fourth place could slip away if we drop any more stupid points.

There’s no point being cautious, we need to go balls out and really start to have a go now.  I don’t think we will though, Rafa seems to have decided that being cagey and adopting a defensive approach is the best way to get fourth.  Unfortunately that has resulted in some of the most uninspiring performances seen in many a year.  I hope we’ll see a more adventurous approach in this game, but I wouldn’t bet my house on it.

The thing is, when Torres is in the side we can still win games by being defensive because he is so good, and so clinical.  The Villa game is a fine example.  We didn’t attack, it was a wretched game with virtually no chances created by either side, but in stoppage time the ball falls to Torres and seconds later we’re going home with the three points.

He’s a matchwinner, and when you team him up with Gerrard then we can beat anybody, regardless of how defensive we are.  Will Wigan’s defence be able to stop him?  Well they couldn’t at Anfield a few months ago, when his goal proved to be the difference between the two sides.  Wigan played ok that day, and N’Zogbia was the best player on the park.  He’s an injury doubt for this one, and hopefully he won’t make it because he’s a threat.  They do have some attacking talent, I like Rodallega and that Victor Moses is meant to be good too (can’t say I’ve ever seen him play though).

If we sit back and invite them on, they can give us problems, especially as we have some injury concerns in defence.  If we take the game to them, they have more to worry about than we do.  The biggest selection poser for Benitez is who to pick at right back.  There’s a doubt over Agger, so if he doesn’t make it then Carragher will have to play in the middle with the Greek.  If Agger is fit, then does Rafa use Carra at right back or keep Mascherano there?  Maybe Martin Kelly comes in?

Mascherano’s role will also have a bearing on where Gerrard plays.  If he’s right back, the skipper will presumably continue in midfield.  If someone else is right back, Gerrard will no doubt be re-united with Torres.   I’d like to see Aquilani handed a start, either in midfield or in behind Torres, but it seems unlikely.  I just think we have more than enough attacking options at our disposal to comfortably see off Wigan, but unfortunately I’m preparing myself for another long evening and yet another close game.

Line up prediction:  Reina; Carragher, Kyrgiakos, Agger, Insua; Lucas, Mascherano; Kuyt, Gerrard, Benayoun; Torres:

Score prediction:  1-2 (Torres, Benayoun)