4 things Man Utd must do to avoid FA Cup upset at Wigan

Recent history bodes well for Manchester United as they prepare for an FA Cup third round tie against Wigan Athletic on Monday night.

United have won 18 of 19 meetings against the Latics. Wigan's sole victory in this fixture was earned by Shaun Maloney's strike in April 2012. A decade on, the 40-year-old will be lining up as Wigan's manager rather than their winger.

In the opposite dugout, Erik ten Hag has been haunted by an endless stream of disastrous historical milestones. United lost 21 games across all competitions in 2023, the club's highest tally of defeats in a single calendar year since 1972.

Here's how Ten Hag can avoid beginning 2024 with another stumble.

Ignore uncertain futures

Manchester United announced a spate of contract renewals in the week leading up to their trip to the DW Stadium. Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Hannibal Mejbri and Aaron Wan-Bissaka all extended their stay but there were some notable absentees from the list of triggered clauses.

While Anthony Martial's fate has long been up in the air, Raphael Varane joins his compatriot under a cloud of uncertainty after entering the final 18 months of his contract.

However, an unclear future should not distract from Varane's importance in the present. After returning from a bizarre exile, the Frenchman has been one of the few United figures to deliver some vague sense of confidence from his performances in recent weeks. Sticking with Varane even if Ten Hag has some more defensive personnel available from injury again is imperative.

Build relationships

"It is clear we are not consistent," Ten Hag lamented after United's grim 2-1 reverse against Nottingham Forest last weekend. "Every time I say it doesn't matter how we line up, we have to win, but the routines are not there because every time we have to swap. Football is quick, so you need communication in a split second."

However, to blindly stick with the same players in the hope of different outcomes is the definition of madness. Antony epitomises the pitfalls of a stubborn approach. The painfully one-footed Brazilian has made 23 consecutive appearances for United across all competitions without scoring or creating a single goal. The last time Antony directly impacted the scoresheet away from Old Trafford was mid-April 2023.

United's promising young winger Amad Diallo has finally returned from injury and replaced Antony in the second half of the defeat to Forest. He may be in line for a start on Monday.

Watch out for set pieces

In the space of four first-half minutes, Manchester United swiftly conceded from two different deadball situations against Aston Villa on Boxing Day. The hosts seemed befuddled by Villa's unorthodox positioning of inactive players but set pieces have been a weak point throughout the season, with United shipping seven in the Premier League alone.

Maloney was in charge of set pieces when working as Roberto Martinez's assistant with the Belgian national team and had to fight with his boss to divert training time to work on his routines.

As the main man at Wigan, Maloney has clearly prioritised this underused aspect of the game; only three League One teams have scored more set-piece goals this season than Wigan (ten). United best watch out.

Don't play at Wigan's pace

While Maloney and Martinez disagreed on the importance of dead balls - the Spanish coach claimed that set-piece goals should be worth half an open-play strike - their teams share the same care in possession.

Wigan have a unique style in League One, holding onto the ball for long periods and patiently working their way up the pitch, deliberately shunning any openings to break rapidly. Yet, Wigan don't press high to win back possession, recording comfortably the fewest high turnovers in the third tier.

In a bid to reduce the chaotic displays in the opening months of the season, Ten Hag seems to have dialled down United's tempo, turning their recent outings into desperately sluggish affairs.

Wigan's idiosyncratic approach lends itself to another tepid showing but United are at their best when their fleet-footed forward have space to run into during transitional contests. For the sake of the spectators and the team's success, Ten Hag may be advised to release the handbrake on Monday.

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