Man Utd 4 - 0 Wigan

Goal!!! Man Utd 4-0 Wigan Athletic Manchester United win a free-kick about 20 yards outside the Wigan penalty area, straight in front of goal. With Wigan's players sleeping on the job, Paul Scholes plays the ball out wide into the path Danny Simpson on the right wing. The youngster floats in an inch-perfect cross. Unopposed and about six yards out, Wayne Rooney sends a powerful header past the unfortunate Chris Kirkland.

78 mins: After picking up a long, inch-perfect pass Patrice Evra, Cristiano Ronaldo blows his first chance at notching up a hat-trick by hanking the ball horribly wide with only Kirkland to beat from about 10 yards.

Goal!!! Man Utd 3-0 Wigan Athletic A beautifully executed goal, but a very simple one. Manchester United right-back Pique plays the ball into space down the left flank, Wayne Rooney runs on to it, rolls the ball across the face of goal, where Cristiano Ronaldo leaves Titus Bramble in his dust and chips it past the horribly exposed, on-rushing Chris Kirkland.

74 mins: Archi Campbell wants in on the rumble between Gary Naylor and Steve Hewitt. "Does Gary Naylor work hard at maintaining his pomposity, or is it just something that comes naturally to him?" he asks.

72 mins: Paul Scholes lofts a wonderful long pass in behind the Wigan defense for Anderson to run on to. It's inches too long and Kirkland gets to it first. Moments later, Kirkland is called into service again and beats Cristiano Ronaldo to a weighted Wayne Rooney pass to through the centre.

70 mins: "My illegal live-streaming isn't working so I'm having to endure the relentless whining of Alan Green," writes Phil Davies. "It's truly upsetting. I thought I'd let you know that where you said 'Wayne Rooney is unfairly booked for a 50-50 challenge for a loose ball with Titus Bramble that he genuinely tried to pull out of when he realized he wasn't going to get the ball', the eternally disgruntled Green has mentioned no less than seven times that Rooney should have been sent off."

68 mins: Fitz Hall hobbles to the sideline with a twisted ankle after colliding with a team-mate. Good man, Titus.

65 mins: Seconds after replacing Salomon Olembe, Antonio Valencia almost scores with his first touch of the ball. Controlling a cross and making room for himself to shoot on the edge of the six-yard box, he brings a brilliant save out of Tomasz Kuszcack, who parries the power knee-high drive out of danger with a very strong left hand.

62 mins: A brilliant bit of skill from Cristiano Ronaldo. After showcasing his stepover skills in a bid to bamboozle Kevin Kilbane on the right-hand side of the Wigan penalty area, he unsuccessfully attempts to get a cross in and falls on his backside in the process. Lying flat on his back, he lifts his left leg in the air and back heels the ball underneath it with his right to a team-mate on the edge of the box. He gets a loud cheer and a round of applause for his efforts.

Goal!!! Man Utd 2-0 Wigan Athletic Cristiano Ronaldo puts United 2-0 up. From a corner, the ball is played to Ryan Giggs, whose rising drive brings a smart save out of Chris Kirkland. The Wigan goalkeeper can only parry the ball up in the air, though, and Cristiano Ronaldo is on hand to head the ball home from his position standing a couple of yards in front of the left upright. This could get ugly for Wigan.

56 mins: Manchester United have a shout for a penalty turned down when Patrice Evra and, I think, Fitz Hall collide in the box. Moments later, a low, curling daisy-cutter from Jason Koumas fizzes wide.

Goal!!! Man Utd 1-0 Wigan AthleticA smashing goal from Carlos Tevez. Beating Kevin Kilbane and Titus Bramble for pace, he latches on to a wonderful low, curling cross-field pass from Wayne Rooney. Stranded out wide, he has to cut back, take the ball around Chris Kirkland, steady himself and then slot the ball home past the three Wigan defenders standing between him and the empty goal.

52 mins: For Manchester United, Ronaldo chips in a cross from the right, but it's too high for Carlos Tevez. The ball is cleared, but breaks only as far as Ryan Giggs, who chests it down and rifles a smart shot high and wide - he probably should have done better.

50 mins: Mario Melchiot hobbles off injured with a thigh strain and is replaced by Fitz Hall, who slots in at right-back. You probably don't need me to tell you why the replacement's nickname is "One Size".

48 mins: Four corners in quick succession for United, but nothing comes from any of them. From the last one, Rooney heads straight at Kirkland, giving Wigan some breathing space.

47 mins: Corner for United, which Simpson takes short to Tevez. He passes to Anderson, who is about five yards outside the Wigan box. He doesn't get hold of his long range effort and Bramble clears.

46 mins: Wigan get the second half underway while I open another PC window to have a crafty bet on Australia beating England by more than 17 points in the rugby.

Steve Hewitt v Gary Naylor I'd be happy enough to step into the Frank Warren role and promote this fight, if anybody out there is willing to put up the purse. I reckon we could have it on Mill Island in my home town of Birr, County Offaly in the Republic of Ireland. Back in my day, that was where young lads went to settle their differences after school. It was also where young lads brought ladies late at night for knee-trembler's if they were lucky or - as was often the case - unlucky enough to pull. A haven for lovers and fighters, and technically it isn't even an island!

It's all kicking off here, so it is: "Re. Steve Hewitt's question about whether Man Utd can whinge about injuries - with their budget, no," writes Gary Naylor. Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!Half-time

45 + 2mins: "It's good to see a couple of United 'kids' getting a chance," hurrahs Steve Hewitt. "Can Naylor please inform us whether United are officially allowed to whinge about injuries yet? It's just that we've already been without Saha, Rooney, Hargreaves, Carrick, Neville, O'Shea, Fletcher, Vidic, Ronaldo (to suspension) ... I could go on." Not on my watch, you won't.

45 mins: Carlos Tevez misses the chance of the half. Sneaking behind the Wigan defence, he picks up a perfectly weighted through ball from Ryan Giggs, makes room for a shot and sends the ball over the bar from about 10 yards. It took a deflection on its way, but no corner is given.

42 mins: Anderson sends a cross in from the left, but it's behind Wayne Rooney. I hope his aim was better when he was around at Cristiano Ronaldo's house with those kiss-and-tell merchants a few weeks ago.

40 mins: Moments before that last bit of activity, a Patrice Evra error had allowed the ball to fall nicely for Paul Scharner on the corner of Manchester United's six-yard box. With the Wigan midfielder about to pull the trigger, Evra did well to recover and poke the ball clear.

38 mins: Corner from Manchester United after Chris Kirkland gets down low to his right to turn a dipping Cristiano Ronaldo shot around the upright. Achill Island's Kevin Kilbane clears the subsequent inswinger.

35 mins: "Barry, I think Gary Naylor has a point," writes Rob Hisnay. "For what Fergie splashed out for Anderson, he could have bought Gareth Bale for a lot less. When are you going for another Red Bull plane ride?" No time soon, Rob. I still haven't recovered from the last one.

32 mins: Wayne Rooney is unfairly booked for a 50-50 challenge for a loose ball with Titus Bramble that he genuinely tried to pull out of when he realised he wasn't going to get the ball. Moments later, Josip Skoko sends a long range effort fizzing towards the Mancherster United goal. It's on target, but doesn't trouble Tomasz Kuszcack too much.

29 mins: Another reshuffle in the Manchester United ranks. John O'Shea limps off to be replaced by local Salford lad Danny Simpson. A right-back by trade, he slots in to his natural home and Pique becomes Rio Ferdinand's third partner of the afternoon in central defense. After a promising start, all this changes have taken the sting out of Manchester United's play.

27 mins: John O'SHea has signaled to the Manchester United, putting them on alert that he too is struggling with injury and may have to retire hurt with what looks like a groin injury. Ronaldo sends a low drive across the edge of the Wigan six-yard box which is hacked out for a corner. Giggs sends the ball into the mixer, where Ronaldo puts it wide.

25 mins: Jason Koumas goes on a meandering run from the centre of the field towards the corner down near the tunnel, beating Paul Scholes and Anderson on his way. Pique puts a stop to his gallop, however, and Manchester United clear.

23 mins: "Good to read that Sir Alex Ferguson was whinging again at yesterday's press conference - with only one Saturday 3.00pm kick off, it's comforting to know that some things don't change," writes Gary Naylor. "Whether Man Utd win by a single goal or a Portsmouthesque 7-4 doesn't matter, but let's hear less of the Old Trafford tradition of attacking football - how about the Old Trafford tradition of spending millions on duds even when in debt?" That's a bit unfair, isn't it Mr Naylor? For once I don't think he was whingeing.

20 mins: After a long, animated chat with Sir Alex Ferguson, Nemanja Vidic is substituted. No6 flashes up on the fourth official's board, heralding the arrival of Anderson, who slots in to central midfield. John O'Shea takes over at center-back.

18 mins: With Nemanja Vidic on the sideline receiving treatment for the head injury he suffered earlier - his cheek has a big cartoon lump on it - Wigan attack again. Koumas sends a long cross-field ball from left to right towards Paul Scharner, who is penalized for offside.

16 mins: Manchester United corner. Giggs swings it in from the right and Scharner heads clear. The corner came after Wayne Rooney, Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez had attempted to carve out an opening on the edge of the Wigan penalty area. The eight Wigan players behind the ball made it nigh on impossible to trouble Chris Kirkland in the Wigan goal.

13 mins: A rare Wigan sortie is broken up by Nemanja Vidic, who dispossesses Salomon Olembe on the halfway line and curls the ball back to his own goalkeeper, Tomasz Kuszcack. Possession stats: Manchester United 71% Wigan 29%.

12 mins: Wigan win a free kick just outside their own penalty area, which goes to waste when Jason Koumas hoofs a long ball in the general direction of Marcus Bent, but misses him by about 20 yards.

10 mins: Wigan attack again, this time down the left courtesy of Scharna, Brown and Koumas. Scharna falls over just outside the penalty area under a challenge from Vidic, but it's no foul and the referee waves play on.

9 mins: Wigan get the ball out of their own half and Jason Koumas tries a potshot from out6side the Manchester penalty area. His low drive skids harmlessly wide.

7 mins: Corner for Manchester United off Mario Melchiot, from which Marcus Bent concedes another. Wigan hack clear, but don't have a single player in the Manchester United half to contest the ball.

4 mins: Chris Kirkland does very well to keep out a speculative own-goal effort from Saloman Olembe, whose attempt at a headed clearance from a Carlos Tevez cross was looping into the top left-hand corner. In the ensuing scramble, Michael Brown hacked down Cristiano Ronaldo and was very lucky not to concede a penalty.

3 mins: Nemanja Vidic and Bent clash heads while contesting a high ball. Vidic comes out worse, but is able to continue after receiving treatment. In other injury news, Sky Sports analyst Andy Gray is poorly and is sitting this match out, which means David Platt is deputizing for him. I interviewed Platty, once. He seemed like a nice enough fellow, but it was like pulling teeth.

1 min: Manchester United kick off, playing 4-4-2 from left to right in their usual home strip. Within seconds, Wayne Rooney is penalized for straying offside. Wigan line out playing a defensive 4-5-1, with Marcus Bent set to have a long afternoon's toil up front on his own.

This just in ...

My friends Gonkers and Nev are at this game, and Gonks was telling me a short while ago there were two Asian tourists in front of him in the very, very long queue to pick up tickets. When they finally got to the hatch, they tried to buy a couple - this match is a 76,000 sell-out - and were most put out that there were none on general sale. See, with hilarious anecdotes like that, it's almost like being at the game. Well, on your way in to the game.

Sensational breaking news

After passing a fitness test yesterday, Louis Saha has just knacked himself in the warm-up and will be unable to take his place on the substitutes' bench.

Team news we've pulled from the wires

Gerard Pique is handed only his second Premier League start as Manchester United looked to hit the top of the table for the first time this season. With Owen Hargreaves and Michael Carrick both ruled out, Sir Alex Ferguson has partnered John O'Shea with Paul Scholes in central midfield, handing the right-back spot to Spain Under-21 international Pique. Louis Saha and Nani are also missing from the side that beat Roma on Tuesday as Carlos Tevez and Ryan Giggs get recalls. Wigan boss Chris Hutchings has picked Cameroon defender Salomon Olembe ahead of Julius Aghahowa as the Latics try to end a five-match losing streak against their north-west neighbors.

Man Utd: Kuszczak, Pique, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra, Ronaldo, O'Shea, Scholes, Giggs, Rooney, Tevez. Subs: Heaton, Anderson, Saha, Nani, Simpson.

Wigan: Kirkland, Melchiot, Boyce, Bramble, Kilbane, Scharner, Brown, Skoko, Koumas, Olembe, Bent.Subs: Pollitt, Hall, Landzaat, Aghahowa, Valencia.

Referee: Mike Riley (Yorkshire)

Good afternoon y'all

There's only two Premiership matches on this afternoon, with just the one kicking off at 3pm. What's the world coming to, eh? Is nothing sacred, eh? Eh? Eh? Oh ... you don't really care, do you. Anyway, here's some tremulously written (due to excitement, not a couple of ales too many last night) pre-match build-up to get you champing at the bit ahead of today's early afternoon showdown at Old Trafford. Currently lying second in the Premiership with 17 points from eight games, Manchester United entertain 12th-placed Wigan Athletic this afternoon.

The subject of Manchester United's toothlessness in front of goal (they haven't scored more than one goal in 11 of their last 12 matches this season) was raised at Sir Alex Ferguson's pre-match press conference yesterday, but he didn't seem too bothered by the stats. "It's crazy, we get criticized for winning 1-0," he said. "If we won 5-1 you'd say our defense was going to pieces. I think what is happening is unusual for us, that has to be said, and I think that every team that comes up against us now will be waiting for a deluge, we know it's going to happen. It will happen, we will score goals, unfortunately it's not come as quick as I would like. We're playing well, we're creating chances, it will happen."

Donning their tin hats today are Wigan, who have gone five games without a win and are rated 26-1 shots to win this match on one betting exchange. "I've not had much to do with Ferguson so far, only a few phone calls, but I'm looking forward to seeing him," he said, before crow-barring in the now obligatory red wine reference. "Hopefully he might have a bottle of red wine for me after the game - and I don't care what it is, as long as we get a result."