Wigan Athletic vs Manchester United FA Cup date officially announced | OneFootball

The third round FA Cup tie between Wigan Athletic and Manchester United has been officially announced for Monday 8th January at 20.15 GMT.

The club’s official website has announced that viewers in the UK will be able to watch the game on ITV.

The third-round clash is sandwiched between United’s trip to Nottingham Forest on the 30th of December and a crucial clash against rivals Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday the 14th of January.

The two clubs were paired together in Sunday’s FA Cup draw, which threw up some great fixtures such as Arsenal vs Liverpool and Sunderland taking on Newcastle.

United will travel to the DW stadium for the first time since the 1st of January 2013, when Sir Alex Ferguson was still at the helm. The Old Trafford side won 4-0 on the day with two goals from apiece from Robin Van Persie and Javier Hernandez.

The tie is also notable as it breaks Man United’s record-breaking streak of 12 consecutive cup ties at home. The Old Trafford outfit have not been drawn away from home in a domestic cup competition since a 3-1 FA Cup loss against Leicester City in March 2021.

The last time the two Lancashire sides met was also in the FA Cup when Jose Mourinho’s side defeated the Latics 4-0 in the fourth round of the competition.

Goals from Marouane Fellaini, Chris Smalling, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Bastian Schweinsteiger saw the Red Devils through to the fifth round with minimum fuss.

The history of the tie has been incredibly one-sided, with Manchester United winning 18 out of 19 of the fixtures.

Nonetheless, the one game United did lose was a crucial one. The infamous 2012 title went right to the final seconds of the season and the Red Devils lost out to Manchester City on goal difference.

Man United’s 1-0 loss at Wigan in April 2012 proved crucial. Had the Old Trafford outfit even secured a point, it would have been enough to win the title.

Probably the most famous tie between the two came in August 2013 when David Moyes’ United side won the Community Shield against Wigan by two goals to none.

Both clubs have not enjoyed a particularly good season to date. United have already been knocked out of the league cup and most probably will face the same fate in the Champions League, as they sit bottom of their group with only one game left at home to Bayern Munich.

The league has also been a rollercoaster ride where the team sits only three points off the top four but has already lost six of 15 games and has a goal difference of exactly zero.

However, United’s problems pale into insignificance in comparison to the Latics. The club has suffered a series of financial difficulties and point deductions for failing to pay their players’ wages, since their relegation from the Premier League a decade ago.

The club currently sit 14th in England’s third tier and lie only six points above the trapdoor to League Two.

Erik ten Hag’s side will hope to avoid an upset as the cup remains the most likely avenue to a trophy this season, even if that seems a tad far-fetched at the moment.