Wigan Athletic v Manchester United Preview
Wigan Athletic (5-12-10) host Manchester United (16-9-1) at DW Stadium on Saturday afternoon in the Premier League. United have won their last 12 matches against Wigan and the odds suggest so. This may not the game for Wigan to get out of the relegation zone.
United have endured a full schedule lately and are coming off a 0-0 draw to Marseille in the Champions League. Before taking on Chelsea and Liverpool, they must get past Wigan. They are at the top of the Premiership table at just one point over Arsenal and would be happy to extend that to four on Sunday.
Wigan have conceded a ridiculous 37 goals and scores just four in their last 12 losses to United. This would be an easy fixture for Wayne Rooney to return to form. He has 11/4 odds at Coral to score first, which has good value since he has scored nine goals in his last 12 matches against Wigan.
The Red Devils have injury concerns with Rio Ferdinand (calf), Park Ji-sung (hamstring), Anderson (knee), and Jonny Evans and Antonio Valencia (both ankle). Michael Owen and Ryan Giggs are expected to return to action for Sir Alex Ferguson. United will be looking to avoid another upset like the one at Wolves a few weeks ago, but they should be good for a win this weekend.
The real battle for Wigan this Saturday is relegation. They are one point short of West Bromwich Albion to be in the clear. They have just one win in the last nine fixtures, and no clean sheet in 10. They have scored just 27 goals in 28 matches. Their biggest scoring threat is Hugo Rodallega with seven goals. Since Wigan have conceded first in seven of their last eight fixtures, Rodallega is a better bet to score anytime rather than first with 13/5 odds at Coral.
One of the few things going for Wigan is that the pitch doesn’t aid opponents with rugby season underway at DW Stadium. United had problems with the pitch at Marseille and we could see much of the same this weekend. That’s the only way Wigan could keep it close, but United is the side to back in this one.
Wigan Athletic v Manchester United Match Odds (supplied by Coral)
Wigan Athletic: 11/2
Draw: 14/5
Manchester United: 8/15