Welcome to live text coverage of Manchester United's Premier League clash with Wigan Athletic at Old Trafford.

STAT: Sir Alex Ferguson’s side have won 36 and lost just two of their last 41 Premier League games at Old Trafford and have dropped just two of the last 30 points available on home soil.

Referee Michael Oliver was very quick to point to the spot, and replays show that there was little or no contact from Al Habsi as Welbeck tumbled over.

United break forward through Welbeck once more, but this time he is crowded out successfully by Ramis, Caldwell and Boyce.

SAVED! Hernandez plants a dismal penalty to his right, and there's very little power on the effort as Al Habsi makes a fine save. Justice is done, or so Wigan will certainly feel.

Penalty! Danny Welbeck storms forward and takes a dramatic fall as Ali Al Habsi closes him down, and there does not look to be any contact at all! The referee points to the spot, and Wigan are furious...

Meanwhile, Ryan Giggs becomes the first player to feature in 600 Premier League games, and he gets on the ball early on as he drops deep.

It's a landmark day for Paul Scholes, who is making his 700th appearance for United. He gets on the ball early on at the base of the midfield.

The first half is underway, and United immediately stroke the ball around at the back. Wigan are already sitting very deep indeed, which is to be expected.

We are just five minutes from kick off now, and Sir Alex is busy shaking hands with half the stand behind his dugout as he takes his position. The players are out already, and we're about to get underway...

The big news from Loftus Road is that Anton Ferdinand snubbed both John Terry and Ashley Cole in the pre-match handshakes... if you are remotely interested. Anyway, on to more important matters of actual football at Old Trafford.

Kagawa pulled out of Japan's home World Cup qualifier against Iraq on Tuesday just an hour before kick-off, while van Persie hobbled off at half-time for the Netherlands. Both are on the bench this afternoon. /// @WAdhipE says "Why, oh why, would you bench RvP and Kagawa when he said they were both fit..."

Match odds: Manchester United (3/10), Wigan (14/1), Draw (21/4) - What is your prediction for today's scoreline at Old Trafford?

The referee for this afternoon's clash Michael Oliver. /// @DaveyCraddock has got in touch to say that Ferguson may regret being so conservative, leaving van Persie and Kagawa on the bench. What do other people think about today's line-ups?

Midfielder Darren Fletcher, who has been out for nearly a year with a chronic bowel condition, was included in Manchester United's squad, which delighted his team-mates and Ferguson. "Darren's in the squad tomorrow, simply because I think it will give him a boost. It's a chance to progress. At this moment in time everything's going fine for him," Fergie said.

Martinez: "Old Trafford has been a really difficult place for us to perform and be ourselves. We're looking at seven visits, 24 goals conceded and only one goal scored from a dead-ball situation. The last game against United we got a well deserved win. It wasn't an accident, it was a well deserved performance and even though we know going to Old Trafford will be very different, it is a challenge that we look forward to.

What do you make of the two teams? Despite Ferguson's insistence that he did not suffer any injury blows during the international break, van Persie and Kagawa miss out today.

Manchester United: Lindegaard, Da Silva, Ferdinand, Vidic, Buttner, Nani, Scholes, Carrick, Giggs, Hernandez, Welbeck. Subs: De Gea, Evans, Valencia, van Persie, Cleverley, Powell, Kagawa /// Wigan: Al Habsi, Boyce, Caldwell, Ramis, Figueroa, Maloney, McCarthy, McArthur, Beausejour, Kone, Di Santo. Subs: Pollitt, Jones, Crusat, Watson, Gomez, Boselli, Miyaichi

United are currently fifth after three games, having won two and drawn one, but Ferguson is already very concerned with his side's defence. Wigan, meanwhile, find themselves in ninth spot with four points on the board.

Sir Alex Ferguson has demanded that Manchester United stop conceding the soft goals that are threatening to derail their Barclays Premier League title bid. United entertain Wigan looking to record their third successive victory. Yet they do so only after being given two massive scares by Fulham and Southampton, who both came close to snatching points off Ferguson's team.