Manchester United will battle Warren Joyce’s Wigan Athletic in the fourth round of the Emirates FA Cup at Old Trafford this afternoon, the first time the former Reserve coach has faced his former team since his departure earlier this season. United have previously been in good form but saw their unbeaten run ended with a 2-1 defeat away to Hull City on Thursday evening, which saw United through to their first cup final this season, facing Southampton on the EFL Cup at Wembley at the end of February. United will be a changed side this weekend with Jose Mourinho having an eye on Wednesday’s clash with Hull in the Premier League at Old Trafford, a match in which they need the win to keep their chances of a top-four finish in with a chance at the end of the season, which will be required to play in the UEFA Champions League next season, or the club will face a reduction in revenue and players will suffer pay cuts.
Manchester United:
Romero;
Fosu-Mensah, Smalling, Rojo, Shaw;
Fellaini, Schweinsteiger;
Mata, Rooney, Mkhitaryan;
Martial
Substitutes:
Pereira; Blind, Tuanzebe; Young, Herrera; Ibrahimovic, Rashford
Wigan Athletic:
Haugaard;
Connolly, Buxton, Burn, Warnock;
MacDonald;
Powel, Morsy, Perkins, Jacobs;
Grigg
Substitutes:
Jaaskelainen; James, Kellett, Tunnicliffe, Morgan, Wildschut, Browne
Manchester United and Wigan Athletic have a history of facing each other. There have been 18 matches in the Premier League, the League Cup and the FA Community Shield and United have been the victors 17 times with Wigan claiming one victory on the 11th April 2012 with a 1-0 victory at the DW Stadium. The last match between the two sides was just over three and a half years ago in the FA Community Shield with David Moyes’ side winning 2-0 with a brace from Robin van Persie lifting the shield for the first time post-Sir Alex Ferguson. Wigan will be looking for a result at Old Trafford today and with United not winning in their last three matches, it will be a worry. United need to take their chances and try to end this battle from the start.
