Wigan's FA Cup Run Will Not Get in the Way of EPL Fight

This little team from Wigan has been defying the odds ever since they entered the Football League in 1978 at the bottom of the fourth tier.

Now, they stand at the brink of their greatest achievement, having secured safe passage to the FA Cup Final for the first time after a worthy 2-0 victory against Millwall.

Latics, who currently sit 18th in the table, even get to have a dress rehearsal for the final, when they meet their Manchester City counterparts on Wednesday night.

It will certainly be interesting to see how the two teams battle it out ahead of the Wembley showdown. But if Latics fans could choose to take three precious Premier League points or create history by winning the FA Cup, which one would they choose?

Three EPL points would be most welcome in manager Roberto Martinez's quest to remain in the top flight for an unfathomable ninth season, but chances are they could achieve both.

The euphoria of reaching one of the most renowned cup finals in the world could springboard Latics' overachievers to EPL survival.

Devoted chairman Dave Whelan has not lost focus on how important it is for the club to stay in English football's elite and told Wigan Observer:

"

When we come out in the final it is something that is going to be a very special day, but staying in the Premier League is massively important.

We have done it for eight years now and everybody said we would last one year.

"

It is arguably more important than ever for Wigan to beat the drop due to the huge sums of money guaranteed to EPL clubs from TV rights.

Whelan added (h/t Wigantoday.net):

"

It is extra important this year because of all of the extra money coming into the game – I tend to plough a lot of that money into our youth facilities because Roberto and myself believe in getting our young players coming through.

"

Martinez, like his chairman, isn't getting carried away just yet either, and he knows that the final will have to take a backseat while all attention is strictly geared towards picking up valuable league points.

He told SkySports.com, "When you're at this stage of the season and you're still involved in two competitions and every game has an incredible meaning, it gives you that sense of focus and that's what I've seen at the training ground."

Tonight's away match to Manchester City starts a run of five league games before Martinez's men are led out at Wembley by Dave Whelan, who could be the first man to play in the FA Cup Final and lead a team out there, too.

On paper, three of these fixtures (West Ham, West Brom and Swansea) are all winnable and would take Wigan up to 40 points, which is deemed by many to be the benchmark for EPL survival. 

It will be tough work to get any points in the Etihad, and with the other fixture pitting them against Champions League-chasing Tottenham Hotspur, Latics must make sure they pick up enough points against the mid-table teams.

Wigan traditionally come good at this stage of the season, but with a big chance to take three points wasted against the ten men of QPR on their last league outing, their inconsistencies may mean that it all comes down to the final fixture of the season against Aston Villa.

If it does come down to the final day again, Wigan will surely benefit from recent big-pressure games and utilise that experience to once again triumph on the last day.

They managed to win in their first-ever FA Cup semifinal and did that with the unusual tag of being favorites and having twice escaped relegation on the last day in the EPL. They would back themselves to do it again.

Home advantage against Villa would be crucial, and despite their poor form at the DW Stadium this season, they would expect to see most of the 22,000 fans that made the trip to Wembley inspire them over the final hurdle.