By Alan G
March 5 2006

John Filan is set to start his first Premier League match for more than three months tomorrow night as Mike Pollitt is sidelined with the hamstring strain he picked up in the League Cup final last Sunday.

It is a daunting task for Filan as Latics have not kept a clean sheet in eight Premiership matches. Club officials are reluctant to put a timescale on Pollitt’s recovery.

 

David Thompson is eligible after being cup-tied for the final, and if Leighton Baines makes an appearance, it will be his 100^th league appearance for Latics.

Ruud van Nistelrooy looks set to sit on the sidelines again after struggling with a stomach complaint in the week.

Sir Alex Ferguson will assess the fitness of all his internationals before naming his starting team.

Latics (from): Filan, Walsh, Chimbonda, Jackson, Baines, De Zeeuw, Henchoz, Teale, Bullard, Kavanagh, Thompson, McCulloch, Scharner, Johansson, Camara, Mellor, Francis, Mahon, Ziegler, Roberts.

Manchester United (from): Van der Sar, Howard, Neville, Brown, Ferdinand, Vidic, Silvestre, Evra,Park, Giggs, Fletcher, O'Shea, Ronaldo, Richardson, Rooney, Van Nistelrooy, Saha, Rossi.

Latics manager Paul Jewell:
"They're a better team than us, we know that, and we know if they play well on Monday then they will beat us.

"But we go into every game trying to get something out of it and to give the supporters something to shout about.

"If any Wigan supporter is unhappy with this season, then we may as well all pack up and go home now."