Wigan v Man Utd preview

21 August 2009 11:28
// A bit of a hack but it works// The article snippet is wrapped onto a second line, even when #article-sub is emptyif( $("div#article-sub").children().length == 0 ) {$("div#article-sub").remove();} Manchester United will look to bounce back from their shock defeat at Burnley when they travel to Wigan on Saturday.[LNB] Robbie Blake's volley stunned the reigning champions on Wednesday night before Michael Carrick blew a chance to equalise by missing a penalty.[LNB]Having lost three valuable points early on in the title race, Sir Alex Ferguson will know that emerging from the DW Stadium with three points is essential.[LNB]History favours United, as they have beaten Wigan on each of the nine occasions the two sides have met, with eight of those wins coming in the Premier League.[LNB]The Latics are also looking to rebound from a disappointing loss as they play at home for the second time in four days.[LNB]New manager Roberto Martinez was blessed with the perfect start to his reign when his side defeated Aston Villa 2-0 on the opening day.[LNB]But newly-promoted Wolves brought them back down to earth on Wednesday when Andy Keogh inspired Mick McCarthy's team to a 1-0 away win.[LNB]Wigan did threaten to spoil the Red Devils' title party the last time the two teams met, when Hugo Rodallega fired them into an early lead.[LNB]But goals from Carlos Tevez and Carrick turned the match around to maintain United's perfect record and virtually assure them of a third consecutive championship.[LNB]Team NewsThe reigning champions have suffered a fresh blow going into the match with the news that Rio Ferdinand will be ruled out for up to a month due to a thigh injury.[LNB]The England defender has missed the start of the Premier League campaign but had hoped to make a quick return to the side. [LNB]There is more positive injury news for United as Ferdinand's partner at centre-back, Nemanja Vidic, has been given the all-clear to start after missing the first two games of the season with a calf problem.[LNB]The Serbia international has also had his return thwarted by an ankle injury but is now ready for action after a period of uninterrupted training.[LNB]Wigan winger Charles N'Zogbia is a fitness doubt for the contest as he is currently struggling with an ankle injury.[LNB]The French player picked up a knock against Villa but was passed fit to play in the midweek contest against Wolves.[LNB]But the injury has not gone away since and N'Zogbia is now rated as 50/50 for the clash with champions Manchester United.[LNB]Possible Starting XIsWigan: Kirkland, Melchiot, Scharner, Bramble, Figueroa, Brown, Thomas, Koumas, Gomez, Sinclair, Rodallega.[LNB]Man Utd: Foster, O'Shea, Evans, Vidic, Evra, Valencia, Anderson, Carrick, Giggs, Rooney, Berbatov.[LNB]

Source: SKY_Sports