Manchester United will aim for their 13th successive victory against Wigan when they travel to the DW Stadium on Saturday. Since the Latics were promoted to the Premier League for the first time in 2005, the two sides have met on 12 occasions with Sir Alex Ferguson’s men victorious on every occasion.

They have won 11 league meetings and thumped Wigan in the 2006 Carling Cup Final 4-0, having scored 39 goals in the matches including two 5-0 victories last season. Amazingly, last year’s Premier League runners-up have conceded just four goals to Wigan in those 12 matches and will be keen for another victory to open up a four-point lead on championship rivals Arsenal in the hunt for this season’s title.

With Arsenal not in league action this weekend due to their Carling Cup final meeting with Birmingham on Sunday, the match takes on extra significance and Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney admitted Saturday’s fixture is vital. “There are three massive games for us coming up now, Wigan, Chelsea and Liverpool, and then maybe Arsenal after that in the (FA) Cup,” Rooney said. “It’s a massive time for us in the season and we’ll have to keep going and trying to create chances in those games. If we can get through those games, with a good amount of points, I’m sure we’ll be up there.”

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The visitors are likely to make several changes to their side that drew 0-0 with Marseille in a dull Champions League affair on Wednesday, with Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and Rafael all in contention to return to the first-team. Rio Ferdinand is still out with a calf injury which he suffered in a shock 2-1 defeat at Wolves, Manchester United’s only league defeat of the season.

Wigan defender Emmerson Boyce revealed that his side were taking inspiration from Wolves’ upset win at Molineux and hopes his side can do the same. “Games like Manchester United are the games you want to play in and are great occasions to experience,” Boyce said. “Wolves showed a couple of weeks ago that United can be beaten, and we fancy our chances of doing the same. People probably won’t fancy us to get anything off United, but Wolves picked up a bonus three points and we need to take heart from that. Anything, even a point, would be a massive boost for our survival chances.”

Wigan, who sit 18th in the Premier League and inside the relegation zone, could drop to the bottom of the table if West Ham and Wolverhampton record victories on the weekend. And with four of their next five fixtures against top-five sides in the Premier League, Roberto Martinez’s side will be desperate to break their losing record against Manchester United and gain at least a point on Saturday.

Prediction: 1-3 – you can get odds of 12/1 with bet365!

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Arsenal face their sternest test of the season when they travel to Barcelona’s Camp Nou in the Champions League on Tuesday.Arsene Wenger’s side exited the competition at the hands of Barcelona in the quarter-finals last season, losing 6-3 on aggregate after a 4-1 defeat in the second leg in Catalonia. They were drawn together again in the round of 16 this year, but Arsenal have already gone one better by recording a 2-1 win in the first leg at the Emirates Stadium on February 16.That narrow victory gave the North London side hope of progressing to the last eight, but since then their season has threatened to derail.They suffered a shock defeat in the Carling Cup final against Birmingham City on February 27, failing to end what is now a six-year drought without a trophy.To make matters worse, key striker Robin van Persie suffered a knee injury at Wembley, ruling him out of the second match against Barcelona. Next came a frustrating 0-0 draw at home to Sunderland on Saturday, a missed opportunity to close the gap on English Premier League leaders Manchester United to just one point. Arsenal’s failure to collect maximum points gained added significance on Sunday, when United were beaten 3-1 away to Liverpool.Influential captain Cesc Fabregas is also suffering from a hamstring injury and while he is expected to be fit for the trip to Spain, it remains to be seen if he will be able to perform at his usual level.Midfielder Alex Song is expected to miss the match after failing to recover from a knee injury he suffered in the Carling Cup final 2-1 loss against Birmingham.”At the moment it doesn’t look like Alex Song will be fit. He’s not been on the field at all,” Wenger said.Although scans have shown only bruising, the swelling is considerable. Song has been one of the few automatic selections in Wenger’s best starting XI over the past two years and his tackling qualities just in front of a central defence already depleted by a long-term injury to Thomas Vermaelen will be keenly missed. Barcelona have won all four of their La Liga matches since being beaten in London, but are not without problems of their own. Gerard Pique picked up a yellow card in the first leg that will rule him out of the return through suspension. His centre-back partner and team captain Carlos Puyol is also out injured, meaning Barca will most likely field either Argentine Gabriel Milito or midfielder Sergio Busquets alongside fullback Eric Abidal as a makeshift defensive pairing. If Busquets is picked at the back, one of Javier Mascherano or Seydou Keita will deputise in midfield. Goalkeeper Victor Valdes returned for Barcelona in their 1-0 home win against Real Zaragoza on Saturday, while Andres Iniesta and David Villa were afforded rests on the bench.

Birmingham City will welcome back five key players for their English Premier League relegation battle against Wigan Athletic on Saturday.Birmingham boss Alex McLeish should be able to call upon defenders Roger Johnson, Martin Jiranek and Stephen Carr, midfielder Barry Ferguson and on-loan striker Obafemi Martins.All five have trained in the past week and their return should provide the team with a boost after an FA Cup quarter-final exit at the hands of Bolton Wanderers in their last match. “We had a right few missing last week and I said at the time if they had played there could have been a danger of them incurring muscle injuries and being out for the next month or even longer,” McLeish said.”It was good for them to get a regeneration of the batteries and also to get some much needed treatment.””Johnson, Ferguson, Carr, Jiranek, Martins all trained today and were declared fit by the medical staff.””(Nikola) Zigic, (Keith) Fahey, (Lee) Bowyer, (David) Bentley did some separate work with the physios so they are the doubts. It is good to get the experienced guys back.”McLeish believes the availability of certain players could dictate whether Birmingham survive in the top flight.”You need to persevere right to the very end but the experience could help as well, could be a factor, and we have that as well,” he said.”It would be nice to get the other players back on track as well … It would be good to have everyone available in the run-in.”McLeish does not expect Wigan to spring any surprises in regards to team selection or tactics at the DW Stadium. “We’ve got a pretty good idea of what side we are going to face,” he said.”(Wigan manager) Roberto (Martinez) will try and get his strongest team out.””We know he can change the system a bit but we know by and large how they are going to play and he will know the same about us.””There are no real secrets in the Premier League.”While a victory over their fellow strugglers would be invaluable, McLeish insists the clash with Wigan is not a must-win game.”There are a lot of big games this weekend and as a league we have come to the real business side of the season,” said McLeish.”We know that winning this game would give us fantastic confidence for the run-in.””If we don’t get the result we are looking for, the league is not finished. There will still be plenty of points to be played for.”

Chelsea defender John Terry has been reinstated as captain of the England football team.Terry, 30, lost the armband last year after reports he was involved in an affair with the former partner of his England and former Chelsea team-mate Wayne Bridge surfaced.Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand filled Terry’s void, but England boss Fabio Capello said Terry has endured enough and proved he was a natural leader in his time in the side when he was not captain.”After one year of punishment, Terry will again be the permanent captain,” Capello said on Saturday.”I think one year’s punishment is enough. John, when he played without the armband, was every time a leader on the pitch, a leader in the dressing room. He was really good every time.””Always he is the same. He is a player that is himself a leader. This is really important. He is the biggest personality in the dressing room.” The decision was made ahead of the Euro 2012 qualifier against Wales on March 26, and Capello said the decision is not a risk and should please the players.”Sometimes the leader can make mistakes – not only him but I, you, all the people,” he said.”It is not a risk making Terry captain again. He understood the mistake and he learnt from his mistakes. He will be a very important captain for us because when I choose him, I know he is a leader.””I also think the players will be happy. I think so. They respect John Terry as a leader, absolutely.” It means that Ferdinand will revert back into the vice-captain role when he is fit again, with Liverpool’s Steven Gerrard, who will also miss the Wales match through injury, Capello’s third choice for captain.Capello explained that Ferdinand ‘preferred not to meet’ him when the Italian manager was in Manchester on Wednesday, with reports earlier this week suggesting Ferdinand was upset to be losing this captaincy.

South Africa international Benni McCarthy is finally out the door at West Ham United after having his contract terminated by mutual consent.McCarthy, 33, arrived at Upton Park in a 2.2-million-pound move from Blackburn Rovers in last January’s transfer window but proved a costly failure at his new club.

The Bafana Bafana striker went goalless in 14 appearances with the Hammers, was fined 200,000 pounds for ongoing weight issues and soon found himself down manager Avram Grant’s pecking order.

He was left out of Grant’s 25-man squad for the second half of the English Premier League season following the transfer-window arrivals of Robbie Keane and Demba Ba, spelling the end of his short, fruitless spell at the East London club.

“West Ham United have mutually agreed with Benni McCarthy to part company with immediate effect,” a short statement on the club’s website read.

“The club would like to wish Benni the best for the future.”

According to English media, McCarthy would have received a further 2.3 million pounds had he opted to sit out his contract until its expiry in June of next year, but instead will walk away with a lump sum payment of 1.5 million pounds and the chance to restart his career elsewhere.

West Ham had attempted to send the former Porto attacker out on loan in January but failed to attract a suitor in the Championship.

Brazil’s Campeonato Paulista has reached the quarter-final stage, with Palmeiras on course to repeat their title win of 2008.Second-placed Palmeiras will host Mirassol, who ended the season seventh on the table, in a one-legged, sudden-death clash.

The Greens have suffered only two defeats and have conceded just eight goals heading into their clash with Mirassol, and Palmeiras have talented individuals spread across the pitch.

Deola, an injury replacement for goalkeeper Marcos, has played a key role in his side’s 12 clean sheets in the group stage.

Centre-back Thiago Heleno is on a high having scored three goals this season, while Chile international midfielder Jorge Valdivia, who has been frustrated by injury, could prove an invaluable asset for Palmeiras in their title assault.

Former Brazil and Chelsea manager Luiz Felipe Scolari, who initially endured a slow start with the club last year, has managed to build a competitive side capable of expanding its trophy cabinet with a 23rd Paulista title.

Palmeiras’ opponents, Mirassol, who they defeated in the group stages, are in their fourth straight season in the first division of the Sao Paulo competition’s top flight.

Midfielder Xuxa, who has put away eight goals in addition to some great assists, has been a standout performer for Mirassol, while Fernando Leal has played a pivotal role in front of goal this campaign so far.