Premier League preview: Manchester United v Wigan

Manchester United host Wigan on Saturday but they could be without key duo Robin Van Persie and Shinji Kagawa.

Van Persie limped off at half-time after suffering a suspected thigh injury during the Netherlands’ 4-1 World Cup qualifying win against Hungary on Tuesday.

Dutch coach Luis Van Gaal played down the injury after the match.

“We took off Robin for precautionary measures,” he said.

“It doesn’t seem to be too serious, but you never know. We didn’t want to take any risks.”

Van Persie has been in lethal form for United, netting four goals in three matches, and any potential injury would be a blow to Sir Alex Ferguson given Wayne Rooney is facing another week or two on the sidelines.

Meanwhile, Kagawa was forced to withdraw from Japan’s World Cup qualifier against Iraq.

The attacking midfielder felt pain in his lower back and suffered spasms during a training session ahead of the match and now faces a race against time to face Wigan at Old Trafford.

United have been far from their best during the early parts of the season but two wins on the bounce against Southampton and Fulham means they are only two points behind leaders Chelsea.

However, Ferguson’s troops face a difficult encounter against a much-improved Wigan side, who are unbeaten in their last two league matches.

Wigan had conceded 21 goals in five games without scoring before breaking that drought with a 1-0 win at The DW Stadium in April.

That victory helped maintain Wigan’s status in the Premier League and they make the trip to Manchester with a number of players in good form.

Former Chelsea striker Franco Di Santo is enjoying a productive spell and he has two goals to his name this season.

The Argentine’s form has been lauded by manager Roberto Martinez, who believes the marksman is ready to make the step up to international football.

“I think Franco can be a massive striker for Argentina,” he said.

“He has always had that potential but it’s the way he put all the parts of his game together in the last four months of last season that has really been so impressive.”

Captain Ali Al Habsi continues to stake his claim as one of the Premier League’s elite goalkeepers after producing another inspiring performance against Stoke, which ended 2-2.

Speedster Arouna Kone has helped fill the gap left by Victor Moses, who joined Chelsea for an undisclosed fee.

Prior to April’s shock defeat, United had won six succussive Premier League games on their travels to Wigan.