Ahead of Our Trip To Wigan...

Manchester United travel to Wigan today for a game that should be an easy three points. This is the team that always loses to United, home and away, so at a time when we want to put some breathing space between us and Arsenal again, we couldn’t ask for a better fixture.

But in a reason when United play like a relegation standard side on the road, not trip should be taken as a given. I don’t fear a defeat today but at this time of the season, nerves are heightened and the pressure is on.

We’re still without Park Ji-Sung, Antonio Valencia, Anderson, Rio Ferdinand, Owen Hargreaves and Jonny Evans and in need of players capable of bossing the midfield.

Step up Paul Scholes. He seems to be in two minds about whether to sign another contract extension at the moment, with it being well known he only wants to stay for as long as he can make a difference. Whilst the manager is quick to reassure him over his importance to the team this season and next, Scholes will want to do it on the pitch to reassure himself too. With Michael Carrick and Darren Fletcher so wishy washy, Darron Gibson usually even worse, I’m desperate to see one of our midfielders put in a match-changing shift.

With an important game just a few days away in London, it is important that we get the points today, get the players with more minutes under their belt to help with confidence and form, but don’t knacker them out/injure them ahead of the Chelsea game. Fergie is going to have to employ a bit of a balancing act today to ensure we get the maximum amount of points possible from these two games, even if that maximum is three points today and a point midweek.

I’d love to see Chicharito in the starting line-up with a decent team behind him. He didn’t get much of an opportunity to shine against Crawley so it would be good to see him starting alongside someone like Dimitar Berbatov who could adequately support him.

When you look at our away form, five teams have done better on the road than us, including Newcastle and Spurs. That is unacceptable and it for that reason we’re always less than confident on the road. But let’s hope for history of seasons gone by to repeat itself, a nice 4-0 for the reds, as so often is the scoreline against Wigan.

Come on United!

—————————
A live blog will be running on RoM.