Everton and Wigan will both be looking to enhance their European hopes when they face each other at Goodison Park.
The visiting side are seven points adrift of sixth-placed Everton who are in a great position to claim the final UEFA Cup spot, but Wigan will be aiming to close that gap.
Steve Bruce’s men claimed only their second ever win over Everton with a 1-0 victory at the JJB Stadium in November and are looking to complete their first ever double over them.
Everton’s 2-1 defeat at Portsmouth a fortnight ago was their first defeat in six Premier League games and have won their last four at home.
However, Wigan have won their last three matches and will be buoyed by the fact that David Moyes’ side have not beaten a top seven side this season.
David Moyes has had to contend with injury problems all season with influential trio Victor Anichebe, Mikel Arteta (both knee) and Yakubu Aiyegbeni (calf) missing the rest of the campaign.
Tony Hibbert (thigh) and Jospeh Yobo (hamstring) are both recovering well after spells on the sidelines but won’t be ready for the Wigan clash.
Top scorer Tim Cahill will have a late fitness test on his injured calf. Should he take his place in the eleven it will be his 150th start for the Blues.
Louis Saha and Jo are likely to continue their partnership up front despite failing to fire against Portsmouth.
Wigan’s preparations for the crunch clash have been overshadowed by Steve Bruce’s criticism of striker Amr Zaki who failed to turn up on time from international duty for the fourth time this season.
Zaki’s future has been thrown in the air after Bruce branded him “the most unprofessional player I've ever worked with”, but is set for a place on the bench at Goodison.
The Egyptian’s compatriot Mido could be paired with gifted Colombian Hugo Rodallega in attack.
Midfielder Lee Cattermole is still suspended after being shown a straight red card in the 1-0 loss to West Ham, so Ben Watson is likely to keep his place in the side.
Manchester United target Antonio Valencia missed the 1-0 victory over Hull City two weeks ago and remains doubtful as he has yet to fully recover from hamstring problem.
Everton manager David Moyes said: "There is still a long way to go, you keep thinking that you are getting near to the finishing line but there is the best part of six weeks left.
"We can’t afford to step off the gas. We know a win would give us a healthy lead over Wigan but we are only concentrating on ourselves just now.
"There is always room to improve and we will be looking to do that in the final few weeks of the season – we want to get back at it after losing to Portsmouth."
He added: "Steve Bruce has done a really great job with Eric Black," said Moyes. "They have got good players and kept getting results even after losing two key men in January.
"I never thought for a moment that they would fall away. They are a steady club and I’m sure it will be a difficult day."
Wigan striker Mido, who has started as a lone striker in the past two games, knows his side must take a cautious approach at Goodison Park.
He said: “It will be really tough against Everton, they are a great side with a very good manager in David Moyes. He has done brilliantly there, bringing in some good players.
“We've been doing quite well away of late and hopefully we can do the same against Everton.
“It's a similar test to the one we had at Aston Villa, we handled that one well.
“I'm getting chances. I should have scored against Hull, while against West Ham I hit the post and Robert Green made a good save and I’ll be looking to hit the back of the net against Everton.”
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