Carrick and Valencia start in United defence

Manchester United boss Alex Ferguson sprang a major surprise by naming midfielders Michael Carrick and Antonio Valencia in his defence to face Wigan at Old Trafford this afternoon.

With injuries biting deep into his squad, Ferguson went for an unorthodox starting line-up, which also included Dimitar Berbatov and Javier Hernandez, in addition to Darron Gibson and Anders Lindegaard, who kept his place in goal.

By contrast, Latics manager Roberto Martinez was a model of stability, naming an unchanged side following the draw against Liverpool on Wednesday.

Man Utd: Lindegaard, Valencia, Evans, Carrick, Evra, Park, Gibson, Giggs, Nani, Berbatov, Hernandez.

Subs: De Gea, Rooney, Welbeck, Rafael Da Silva, Macheda, Diouf, Fryers.

Wigan: Al Habsi, Stam, Alcaraz, Caldwell, Figueroa, Jones, Diame, McCarthy, Gomez, Moses, Sammon.

Subs: Pollitt, Gohouri, Crusat, Watson, Di Santo, McArthur, Rodallega.

Referee: Phil Dowd (Staffordshire)