Defending champions Manchester City host neighbours and relegation battlers Wigan Athletic at the Etihad on Wednesday, in what is a dress rehearsal of the FA Cup final at Wembley on 11 May.

Manchester City
Reuters

Overview

Both sides enter this match after enjoying FA Cup semi final success at the weekend, beating two London-based teams at Wembley. Wigan posted a 2-0 win over Championship side Millwall on Saturday before City overcame holders Chelsea 2-1 the following day.

Roberto Mancini's side sit second in the Premier League table, 15 points behind runaway leaders Manchester United. They do have a game in hand but barring a second consecutive end-of-season collapse by United, it will not change the situation. City will need the game in hand to stay clear of the chasing pack of Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham. Mancini's men may have given up any hope of defending the league title but are still keen on finishing the campaign in a strong fashion: a statement made clear by their 2-1 win at Old Trafford last week.

Wigan, on the other hand, are 18th in the table and very much in the middle of a relegation battle, which, mathematically, involves a staggering 10 teams at the moment. However, Roberto Martinez's men have started their customary late-season charge - they are unbeaten in five, with four wins on the stretch. The Latics are just three points behind Sunderland in 15th but have two games in hand and also have a better goal difference than Aston Villa in 17th.

Recent history favours City in this fixture as the champions have won each of their last five meetings against Wigan and have not even conceded a goal to the Latics since 2009.

Where to Follow Live

Kick-off is set for 7.45pm BST. There are no channels providing live telecast of the game in UK. Follow coverage of the game on BBC Sports and on ESPN Soccernet

Wigan Athletic
Reuters

Form Guide

Manchester City

  • Last Five Games (all competitions, most recent first): W W W L W
  • Last Match: Chelsea 1 - 2 Manchester City

Wigan Athletic

  • Last Five Games (all competitions, most recent first): W D W W W
  • Last Match: Millwall 0 - 2 Wigan Athletic

Team News

Manchester City: Micah Richards (knee) and Jack Rodwell (hamstring) have returned to full training and are in Mancini's squad for this game but the extent of their involvement is still unclear. David Silva, who suffered a hamstring injury in the Manchester derby last week, is struggling to prove his fitness and could be saved for the massive weekend game against Tottenham. Meanwhile, there have been no updates on Maicon (knee).

Mancini might make a few changes to the side that beat Chelsea at the weekend as he looks to ensure some of his key players are fresh for the trip to White Hart Lane. The likes of Richards, Aleksandar Kolarov, Javi Garcia and Edin Dzeko could come in to the XI, with Pablo Zabaleta, Gael Clichy, Gareth Barry and Carlos Tevez making way.

Probable Line-up: (4-4-2) Hart; Richards, Kompany, Nastasic, Kolarov; Milner, Garcia, Y Toure, Nasri; Aguero, Dzeko

Wigan Atheletic: Martinez has no new injury or suspension concerns but Ivan Ramis, Albert Crusat (both knee), Mike Pollitt (thigh) and Ben Watson (match fitness) remain sidelined. Having started with the same 10 outfield players in their five successive unbeaten games, any changes look unlikely for the relegation battling side.

Probable Line-up: (3-4-3) Al Habsi; Alcaraz, Scharner, Figueroa; Boyce, Gomez, McCarthy, Beausejour; McManaman, Kone, Maloney

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