Wigan's Nick Powell in contention to face former club Manchester United

Manchester United could take on a familiar face in Jose Mourinho's opening match in charge, with Nick Powell set to make his first appearance for Wigan Athletic since swapping Old Trafford for the DW Stadium on a permanent basis. The 22-year-old returned to the Latics earlier this week on a three-year deal after his contract expired in June.

The former England Under-21 international scored 12 goals in 41 appearances during a loan spell with the club in the 2013-14 season, but rejoins on a permanent arrangement having spent part of last term with Hull City. Wigan's opening friendly of the summer against Chester FC came too soon for Powell but he could yet feature this weekend.

Gary Caldwell's side face United and Liverpool in consecutive days this weekend as they gear up for their return to the Championship – after winning promotion last term. Caldwell is hopeful of being able to call on Powell and striker Will Grigg, who is back with his club after being a non-playing member of the Northern Ireland squad at the European Championships.

"We'll have to wait and see on Nick Powell and Will Grigg's involvement at the weekend," he told the club's official website. "Nick did some work with the fitness coaches the other day and we'll see how he is on Thursday and Friday. I imagine he'll get some game time but probably not from the start.

"Will worked with Nick and he's as fit as the other boys but we just have to be careful with him; we don't want to push him too much because of the hard summer that he has had."

The back-to-back fixtures give Caldwell the chance to test himself against two of the most revered managers in world football. The match also represents Mourinho's first in the United hot seat, though he is unlikely to be able to field his strongest team.

Thirteen first-team players are yet to return to training after their exploits at Euro 2016 and the Copa America, with captain Wayne Rooney and summer signing Zlatan Ibrahimovic among those unavailable. However, new additions Eric Bailly and Henrikh Mkhitaryan could make their debuts while Luke Shaw is in line for his first appearance since breaking his leg last September.