Manchester United: Latest Team News for Match vs. Wigan Athletic

After some time off due to international qualifiers, the English Premier League is back this weekend, with Manchester United at home to Wigan Athletic (full preview here).

The Red Devils enter the match on the back of two consecutive victories—as unconvincing as they may have been—and look to be the team to beat at home. That's nothing against the Lactics—it's just Sir Alex Ferguson's men appear to be in a different class heading into this one.

Manchester United still have several big question marks surrounding injuries to key players, and the withdrawal or inclusion of those players will have a profound impact on the formations and strategy that the Red Devils use throughout the match.

Let's take a look at all the latest news for Manchester United.

Robin van Persie

After picking up an injury whilst on international duty, it was feared that United's summer recruit and star striker Robin van Persie would be absent from their clash against the Lactics.

But multiple media outlets, including The Telegraph and The Daily Mail, are reporting this morning that the Dutch international will indeed take the pitch.

With Wayne Rooney still recovering from his leg gash and unavailable for selection, van Persie will likely line up as the lone striker if they adopt the 4-2-3-1 formation currently in use.

Shinji Kagawa

Shinji Kagawa—like van Persie—suffered injury whilst playing for his national side, with the Japanese midfielder withdrawing due to back problems.

United then reportedly sent the midfielder to the hospital for scans on his back (per Goal), and whilst no new information is known about the results of that scan, it is widely assumed that he too will also take his place in the starting lineup for the Red Devils.

David de Gea

David de Gea was rested last week by Sir Alex Ferguson—no injury or anything cited by the Red Devils manager—but will take his place in the starting lineup this week.

Anders Lindergaard will take his place on the substitutes bench.

Rafael da Silva

After shining for Brazil in their 2012 Olympic football campaign and carrying that form over to the start of the English Premier League season, Rafael will again take his spot at right-back for the Red Devils—a position that United fans will have to get used to seeing him at for a while.

The Guardian is reporting that Phil Jones—Rafael's likely threat at right-back—is out for six weeks with a knee injury that will require surgery. And whilst that isn't good news at all for the England international or the Red Devils' defensive stability in general, it does present Rafael with an excellent opportunity to prove himself as a valuable asset in defense this season.

Ashley Young

Goal is reporting that Ashley Young is also out due to injury.

I'm not 100 percent sure on this one, but I do think he is unlikely to feature in this one—even if it's just a precautionary measure from Sir Alex Ferguson.

Nani is more than capable of covering on the left flank and should be named in the starting side if Young is indeed ruled out. The other alternative is Ryan Giggs, who will be celebrating his 700th Premier League match in this one.

Possible Starting Lineup

With all of that in mind, Manchester United's starting lineup for the match against Wigan Athletic should resemble something close to the one that we've got here.

There was speculation earlier in the week that Alexander Buttner may receive his first Premier League start at the expense of Patrice Evra; I'm not sold on that one yet and think that the French international will keep his starting place in this back line.

We've already touched on the fact that this will be Ryan Giggs' 700th Premier League match; the fixture will also be the 600th appearance for Paul Scholes and the 400th match for Rio Ferdinand—all three of whom have been faithful servants for the club throughout the years.

How much they will feature in this one respectively will vary, with Ferdinand likely to see all 90 minutes whilst Scholes and Giggs could be used as substitutes throughout the second half, depending on how the match is unfolding.

Tom Cleverley and Michael Carrick have both been strong so far in the holding midfielders role; expect that to continue again here against Roberto Martinez's men.

Antonio Valencia and Nani will be the wingers for mine; Shinji Kagawa in the middle and Robin van Persie ahead of him—rounding out a very solid and dominant Red Devils side, despite the plethora of injuries that they have had to deal with already.

Any Manchester United team news or questions heading into this one?

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