Manchester United vs Wigan Athletic FA Cup,
kick-off at 4:00pm Sunday 29th January 2017
from Old Trafford
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Manchester United vs Wigan Athletic Preview
Manchester United welcome Championship strugglers Wigan Athletic to Old Trafford in an FA Cup tie where they can begin gathering thoughts about a possible treble by the season’s end: the Community Shield, League Cup and FA Cup.
Paul Pogba’s goal in the 2-1 loss to Hull on Thursday was pivotal to their progression to the final of the League Cup, winning 3-2 on aggregate, and setting a date with Southampton at Wembley on the 27th of February.
Wigan are in a minor purple patch, winning their last three games in a row and conceding just one in their last five. One of those three wins was over Nottingham Forrest in the third round of the FA Cup, but Warren Joyce’s men will now have to produce the performance of their season if they are to progress any further
Team News – Manchester United
Jose Mourinho named a first-choice line-up in the defeat to Hull minus a couple of usual starters. All of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Ander Herrera, Paul Pogba, Michael Carrick, Chris Smalling, Phil Jones, Marcos Rojo and David De Gea played out the 90 minutes, signalling the intent of Mourinho to get the job done.
The Portuguese manager has already revealed that De Gea will be playing no part in Sunday’s match, as he has handed the Spaniard a break ahead of upcoming Premier League fixtures with Hull and Leicester. Sergio Romero was announced as his replacement, while youngster Joel Pereira will be on the substitutes bench.
United’s stalwart defence has proven the backbone to their resurgence this season, conceding seven goals in their last 10 games, but will nonetheless be welcoming Eric Bailly back into the squad with open arms. The Ivorian played in all of the Ivory Coast’s African Cup games but returns to Carrington early after they crashed out at the group stage.
Team News – Wigan Athletic
In 41-year-old Jussi Jaaskelainen, The Latics have the Championship’s oldest player. The Fin has over 10 years of Premier League experience with Bolton and West Ham, and could feature due to Adam Bogdan’s season ending ACL injury. Bogdan is Wigan’s first-choice goalkeeper with 17 appearances in the league, though Joyce could opt for Danish keeper Jakob Haugaard to reprise his starting role from the 2-0 win over Nottingham Forrest in the third round.
Wigan will have one major problem when heading to Old Trafford: scoring. With 24 goals from 27 league games, they are the least threatening team in the competition. Will Grigg (5), Yannick Wildschut (4) and Jordi Gomez (3) are the only players in the squad to have scored more than one goal in the Championship all season. Add that to United’s commanding defence and you might as well lock in a Manchester United clean sheet at 7/10 with Boylesports.
Manchester United vs Wigan Athletic – FA Cup Betting Predictions
Manchester United to record an easy win. They did so against Reading in the third round without the likes of Ibrahimovic, Pogba and Mkhitaryan, and with or without those players they should be able to put three or four past Wigan. Wigan’s defensive record in their last five is solid but we can’t neglect the fact that the five games before that saw 10 goals shipped in. United are 2/11 with William Hill, Ladbrokes and Paddy Power for a victory and 27/20 with Coral to win by three or more goals.
As for correct scores, I’m predicting a 4-0 score line, which would be a repeat from the win over Reading. That pays 19/2 with BetVictor, an offer you almost can’t refuse when considering that United are arguably the in-form team in England in front of goal at the moment; they haven’t failed to find the net since October. Even if Mourinho chooses to drop Ibrahimovic, this fixture gives Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford the chance to shine, and they took full advantage in the last round with three of the four goals between them.
As for the two young strikers, they lead my picks for the first goal scorer betting options. Rashford is 19/5 with 888sport to score the game’s first goal, while Martial is at 11/2 with BetStars. I’m also tipping United to get off to a good start and score early, just like they did in the Reading win with a 7th minute Wayne Rooney strike. United to score a goal in the first 10 minutes pays 3/1 with Sky Bet.
Correct score prediction
Manchester United to win 2-0
