Nani Looking to Prove Critics Wrong

Nani should be looking to get back to goalscoring form and to prove that he is by far and away the best winger at Manchester United.

Nani was one of the liveliest players in the pitch during the 0-0 draw with Marseille in mid-week. However, a lot of his pace and trickery had no end product which would have annoyed the Portuguese as he’s looked a far more complete player this season.

Wigan have been struggling in the Premier League this season but Sir Alex Ferguson will be under no illusions that his team will have to play well to get a result. The Wigan pitch isn’t of the best quality and one of the areas where United will look to be successful is down the channels of the team.

Nani can play on either flank which will allow Ferguson to chop and change in terms of who plays on the other side. The difference between Nani right now and the Nani of seasons gone by is that this Nani is first choice when it comes to Ferguson writing out a list of wide players.

Nani will be able to get in behind the Wigan defence if United’s passing football is not really working during the Premier League tie. Playing the ball over the top is an old and unattractive tactic in football but a fast winger can latch onto the ball and race at the goalkeeper while the rest of the defence is still turning around.

The winger is now more creative than he has ever been and this will help if Wigan put players on him to stop him being influential. Nani can play intelligent short passes into feet or space and he can also see a longer pass which can unlock an organised and stubborn defence.

Another area where Nani is going to be key is on set pieces. Nani is a great striker of a dead ball and he will have chances to score goals from free kicks around the Wigan penalty area. He sometimes has to fight for the right to take these free kicks but he has just as much chance of scoring as any other player.

Nani is 13/2 to score first and 2/1 to score at any point.