English Premier League title rivals Chelsea and Manchester United, having taken advantage of easy opening matches against promoted sides, will have to show something more this weekend when they travel to grounds that hold unhappy recent memories for them.
Chelsea go to Wigan, where they lost 3-1 last September in one of the more inexplicable results of a season that ultimately yielded the Double for Carlo Ancelotti's team.
United, meanwhile, are at Fulham, who won both home games against the Reds during Roy Hodgson's two full seasons at Craven Cottage.
Ancelotti was still learning the ropes in the Premier League when Wigan gave him a rude shock early last season, as they did later when Arsenal and Liverpool visited the JJB Stadium. Those results made Wigan one of the more unpredictable Premier League sides, liable to blow hot against the elite sides and cold against teams from a lower level.
Judging by their opening 4-0 home defeat by relegation favourites Blackpool, Wigan still have the capacity to go cold, which bodes ill for them because the likelihood is that last season's outstanding results against top teams will not be reproduced. A more accurate gauge of how Wigan stand against Chelsea is the 8-0 thrashing they received at Stamford Bridge in May, part of an alarming string of heavy defeats under Roberto Martinez.
Chelsea's defeat at Wigan was clearly a blip because, despite a midwinter run of away draws that at one point threatened to derail their title challenge, they did not lose on the road last season against any other team outside the top eight.
