Manchester United vs Wigan Athletic preview
Game : Manchester United (3rd-41 points) vs Wigan Athletic ( 7th-31 points)
Venue : Old Trafford, Manchester
Date : January 14, 2008 (Wednesday)
Competition : English Premier League
Kickoff : 20.00 GMT
Manchester United have the opportunity to go above second placed Chelsea in the Premier League table when they host in form Wigan Athletic at Old Trafford on Wednesday night.
United crushed a listless Chelsea 3-0 at OT on Sunday- a performance that will give them great confidence going into this game. Sir Alex Ferguson opted to leave Michael Carrick and Paul Scholes on the bench, and started with Darren Fletcher and Ryan Giggs in central midfield, with Park Ji Sung and Ronaldo on the wings. Giggs performed extremely well, and is likely to be rested for this clash, with Carrick or Anderson taking his place. Youngster Jonny Evans put in a composed performance in central defence, and he will continue to deputise for the injured Rio Ferdinand on Wednesday. Left back Patrice Evra is also out with a foot injury. John O’Shea should take his place.
Manchester United form- last five games- all competitions
Man United 3-0 Chelsea ( Nemanja Vidic, Wayne Rooney, Dimitar Berbatov)
Derby 1-0 Man United ( League Cup)
Southampton 0-3 Man United ( FA Cup- Danny Welbeck, Nani, Gibson)
Man United 1-0 Middlesbrough ( Dimitar Berbatov)
Stoke City 0-1 Man United ( Carlos Tevez)
Wigan Athletic have won six of their last seven Premiership games. Steve Bruce’s men shocked Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday, with Maynor Figueroa heading home the winner in stoppage time. Wigan have a poor record against United though, with the last seven games between these two sides all going United’s way.
Wigan Athletic recent form- last five games- all competitions
Wigan 1-0 Tottenham ( Maynor Figueroa)
Tottenham 3-1 Wigan ( FA Cup- Henri Camara)
Bolton 0-1 Wigan ( Amr Zaki)
Wigan 2-1 Newcastle ( Ryan Taylor, Amr Zaki)
Wigan 3-0 Blackburn Rovers ( Emile Heskey, Luis Valencia, Lee Cattermole)
Corresponding fixture last season :-
Man United 4-0 Wigan Athletic ( Carlos Tevez, Cristiano Ronaldo*2, Wayne Rooney)
Wigan are in good form, but I think Man United will prove to be too much for them. United to win 2-0, with Berbatov and Carlos Tevez scoring.
