Manchester United take the short trip to the DW Stadium on Monday night, where they will take on a struggling Wigan Athletic side. The Red Devils have won 18 of their last 19 fixtures against the Latics, and they will look to make it 19 from 20 next week.
Wigan
Wigan’s season has almost been a bit of a blur so far, with their -8 point deduction putting the side 17th in League One instead of tenth. Promotion is off the cards, and Shaun Maloney will be desperate to just get through the season and start with a clean slate next year. Additionally, the Latics have been pretty average in all departments this season, scoring 1.4 goals and conceding 1.2 goals per game on average.
Last time out, Wigan picked up an encouraging 1-1 draw away to sixth-place Barnsley. The visitors had less off the ball and only had one shot on target all game, which was the equaliser with ten minutes to go.
Man Utd
The Red Devils are in a similar boat to Wigan in regards to the fact that their faithful will want the season to just be over. They’re out of every competition bar the FA Cup, and in the Premier League they sit in eighth, with the same number of defeats as last season (nine). Erik ten Hag’s biggest issue has been in front of goal, where his team has scored just 1.1 goals per game, only two teams have netted fewer.
On the other hand, only three teams have a better defensive record than the Red Devils, as they’ve conceded 27 goals in 20 matches. However, that wasn’t on display last time out, as they suffered a 2-1 defeat to Nottingham Forest. In short, United were poor, lacked chemistry on the field, and looked vulnerable on the break.
Verdict?
Man United will win this game, and given Ten Hag’s track record of little rotation, they should go strong with few changes.
Wigan have been abysmal in attack, and their goal will be to keep United out for as long as possible. But quality will eventually prevail, if not right away.
The final prediction is Wigan 0-3 Man United.
