please log in to view this image please log in to view this image VS please log in to view this image Manchester United v Wigan Athletic, 15:00 Monday, 26 December 2011 http://www.firstrowsports.tv/ In-form Manchester United will be aiming to maintain their title push when hosting Wigan at Old Trafford on Boxing Day. Sir Alex Ferguson's side have bounced back from their UEFA Champions League exit by winning their last three top flight ties. The latest - a 5-0 hammering of Fulham at Craven Cottage - sees the champions sit just two points behind arch-rivals Manchester City at the top of the table. Wigan go into the North West derby enjoying a revival - taking nine points from their last six games - after losing eight successive top flight matches. Roberto Martinez's men have drawn their last two home games against high-flying opposition - Chelsea and latterly Liverpool - while the Latics have won their last two away games against Sunderland and West Brom. Wigan have not won three away games in a row since November 2005 and face the sobering statistic that they have never beaten United in 13 attempts in all competitions. The Latics have failed to score in seven of their last eight Premier League games against the Red Devils, including the last four in a row. LAST MEETING please log in to view this image United moved four points clear of Arsenal at the top of the table with a 4-0 win at the DW Stadium. Javier Hernandez struck twice to open up a healthy lead, before Wayne Rooney’s tap-in and Fabio da Silva’s first-ever goal for the club sealed an emphatic victory. Any lead over the Gunners was short-lived, however, as a result of consecutive defeats to Chelsea and Liverpool in the following games. TEAM NEWS United boss Ferguson expects powerful utility man Phil Jones to be available to face the Latics. Jones did not suffer a broken cheekbone as Ferguson first feared at Fulham on Wednesday, and the bruising should have eased sufficiently for the teenager to face Martinez's men. However, Ashley Young (knee) is going to be out for a few weeks, joining Tom Cleverley (ankle), Rio Ferdinand (foot) Michael Owen (thigh) and Anderson (knee) on the sidelines, along with long-term casualties Nemanja Vidic(knee) and Darren Fletcher (bowel condition). Wigan manager Martinez may be tempted to keep the same starting line-up which has gone unbeaten in the last three top flight ties. He will assess defender Steve Gohouri (flu) and striker Hugo Rodallega before deciding on his squad. Rodallega picked up a heavy knock during Saturday's 1-1 draw with Chelsea, but played against Liverpool in midweek and he will be checked again to ensure he is suffering no after-effects. James McCarthy is also expected to be available despite also suffering a knock against Liverpool. INJURIES Man Utd: Young, Ferdinand, Cleverley, Owen, Anderson, Vidic, Fletcher. Wigan: Kirkland. POSSIBLE STARTING LINEUPS Man Utd: De Gea, Evra, Evans, Jones, Smalling, Giggs, Carrick, Valencia, Nani, Rooney,Welbeck. Wigan: Al Habsi, Caldwell, Alcaraz, Figueroa, Stam, Diame, Jones, Gomez, McCarthy, Sammon, Moses. Match odds Man Utd 1/6 Draw 13/2 Wigan 14/1 -------------------------- PREMIER LEAGUE TABLE P GD PTS 1 Man City 17/ 38/ 44 2 Man Utd 17/ 28/ 42 3 Tottenham 16/ 13/ 35 4 Chelsea 17/ 15/ 33 5 Arsenal 17/ 8/ 32 6 Liverpool 17/ 7/ 30 7 Newcastle 17/ 1/ 27 8 Stoke 17/ -10/ 24 9 Norwich 17/ -4/ 21 10 West Brom 17/ -7/ 21 11 Everton 16/ -2/ 20 12 Aston Villa 17/ -4/ 19 13 Fulham 17/ -5/ 18 14 Swansea 17/ -5/ 18 15 Sunderland 17/ 0/ 17 16 QPR 17/ -14/ 16 17 Wolves 17/ -13/ 15 18 Wigan 17/ -15/ 14 19 Bolton 17/ -17/ 12 20 Blackburn 17/ -14/ 10 -------------------------- OTHER PREMIER LEAGUE FIXTURES Monday, 26 December 2011 Chelsea v Fulham, 13:00 Bolton v Newcastle, 15:00 Liverpool v Blackburn, 15:00 Sunderland v Everton, 15:00 West Brom v Man City, 15:00 Stoke v Aston Villa, 19:45 Tuesday, 27 December 2011 Arsenal v Wolverhampton, 15:00 Swansea v QPR, 17:00 Norwich v Tottenham, 19:30
Not really much build up to be done for this game. Without wishing to sound arrogant it should be a forgone conclusion. Im still not entirely sure how wigan have managed to stay up these last few years. 3-0 Utd.
Wigan at home are a different prospect to when they travel. They've always had this consistantly inconsistant character which is probably why I like them. Usually an easy 3 points at OT, normally the question is how many we score but they have had two really good results against Chelsea and Liverpool and by all accounts should have actually taken 4 points rather than just the 2 so they've taken probably 2 more points than they thought they would from this period when the fixtures came out.
Would you shut the **** up with your ****ing 8 1. We're not going to win 8 1 you ****ing stupid ****. By the way, Merry Christmas.
They kept us at bay in this fixture last season untill they went down to 9 men,but at the time Rooney was out of form but Evra and Hernandez done the busines,this time we have an on form Wayne Rooney and Danny Welbeck Available but I think they will score 3 1 United
What do you mean forgone conclusion it does sound arrogant and we have managed to stay up by sticking to what we believe in.Ho and bi the way everybody thought Liverpool was a forgone conclusion but without sounding arrogant considering the the fire power they have in there team we made them look ordinary.
The Key word was "should" as in "on paper". You have done very well in practice to draw with Liverpool and Chelsea recently and to stay up against my expectations. However what with this one being at old trafford i would be lying if i said i saw anything for you. Maybe your team will prove me wrong.
Drank lots of beer and wine, ate lots of turkey and cake, and watched my niece and nephew opening all their presents, so it was good thanks. Boxing day football is great. Yet another reason why the Premiership is better to watch than any other league.
Man Utd lineup: Lindegaard, Evans, Evra, Gibson, Carrick, Valencia, Park, Giggs, Nani, Berbatov, Hernandez
