Preview: Wigan Athletic v Manchester United

Match details: This pre-season friendly against Wigan Athletic at the DW Stadium will kick off at 13:30 BST on Saturday 16 July and the match will be shown exclusively live on MUTV for subscribers. You can also follow the action via ManUtd.com’s live blog and the club’s official Twitter account @ManUtd, while tickets are still available to buy for official members and season ticket holders.

Setting the scene: Before flying over 5,500 miles to China for Tour 2016, presented by Aon, the dawn of a new era at United will begin less than 30 miles up the road in Wigan. The composition of Jose Mourinho’s first squad as manager is yet to be revealed, with a number of youth players expected to join a sprinkling of seniors against the Latics, though the new boss’s formation and tactical approach is sure to be scrutinised by supporters. This is a must-watch for all Reds.

Fixture congestion: This may sound odd but Wigan have scheduled another friendly against Liverpool for Sunday afternoon at 16:00 BST – which is just over 24 hours after facing United! It is presumed that they will field two separate squads for the double-header.

A word from Wigan: In a statement to announce the friendly with United, Latics chairman David Sharpe looked forward to a big weekend for his club: “This will be Jose Mourinho’s first game in charge as manager of Manchester United and there will be a big focus on the DW Stadium,” he said. “These two games will certainly give the supporters a great way to welcome our players back to the DW after the summer break and will be great occasions.”a