Sir Alex Ferguson expects defender Phil Jones to be available for Manchester United's Boxing Day encounter with Wigan at Old Trafford.

Jones did not suffer a broken cheekbone as Ferguson first feared at Fulham on Wednesday, and the bruising should have eased sufficiently for the teenager to face Roberto Martinez's men.

However, Ashley Young (knee) is going to be out for a few weeks, joining Tom Cleverley (ankle), Michael Owen (thigh) and Anderson (knee) on the sidelines, along with long-term casualties Nemanja Vidic (knee) and Darren Fletcher (bowel condition).

Ferguson does not expect to see Wigan in the Premier League's relegation zone in May.

After avoiding the drop on the final day of last season, Roberto Martinez's side were amongst the favourites for relegation this term.

A run of eight successive defeats dumped them to the foot of the table, merely strengthening the theory the Latics were not good enough to stay up.

However, since then, Wigan have improved dramatically.

They collected seven points from four games immediately prior to a tough run of fixtures that began with home games against Chelsea and Liverpool before the Boxing Day trip to Old Trafford.

The first two fixtures brought fully merited draws.

And whilst it would be a major surprise if they earned the first Premier League point in their history against United, Ferguson is certain they will eventually ease their way clear of trouble.

"Wigan will stay up," said Ferguson.

"I would not put them as one of my relegation teams.

"Every year they dig out results no-one would expect of them, particularly against the bigger teams.

"Last year they lost 6-0 at home to Chelsea. This year they played excellent football and could have won the game."

Recruited from Swansea in 2009 on the back of the free-flowing style that brought promotion to the south Wales outfit in his second season as manager, Martinez has remained loyal to his footballing principles despite experiencing some very difficult periods.

"Wigan were terrific against Chelsea," said Ferguson.

"Their possession was really good. It says a lot for the philosophy of their manager that they continue to play good football irrespective of what position of the league they are.

"We have a good record against Wigan but we are not taking it for granted."

Martinez will assess defender Steve Gohouri (flu) and striker Hugo Rodallega before deciding on his squad.

Rodallega picked up a heavy knock during Saturday's 1-1 draw with Chelsea, but played against Liverpool in midweek and he will be checked again to ensure he is suffering no after-effects.

James McCarthy is also expected to be available despite also suffering a knock against Liverpool.

Manchester United (from): De Gea, Lindegaard, Amos, Rafael, Evans, Smalling, Ferdinand, Evra, Jones, Fryers, Cole, Carrick, Valencia, Park, Gibson, Nani, Giggs, Macheda, Rooney, Welbeck, Berbatov, Hernandez, Diouf.

Wigan Athletic (from): Al Habsi, Caldwell, Alcaraz, Figueroa, Watson, Diame, Moses, Gomez, McCarthy, Di Santo, Jones, Stam, Van Aanholt, McArthur, Lopez, Thomas, Sammon, Maloney, Crusat, Gohouri, Rodallega, McCarthy, Pollitt, Kirkland.

United league form: DWWWW

Wigan league form: WLWDD

United key man: Nani - Portuguese winger in fine festive form

Wigan key man: Ali Al Habsi - when he's on form he pulls off some incredbile saves and he can expect a busy afternoon

Prediction: United 2 Wigan 0 - Latics are showing decent form but there should be no stopping United at OT

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