Colchester United host Wigan Athletic tomorrow

From team news to line-ups, key men and the referee, all you need to know can be found below ahead of the game at the JobServe Community Stadium (kick-off 12.30pm).

U's team news

Colchester will be without several players for their game against Wigan.

Frank Nouble (knee) and Shamal George (ribs) will both be missing, while Tom Eastman is still isolating after contracting Covid.

Brendan Wiredu is back in training after suffering a knee injury but is unlikely to feature tomorrow.

U's boss Hayden Mullins said: “Brendan trained on Friday and it was his first training session, so that was a big plus.

“We have to be a bit careful with him but it was good to see Brendan out there."

Ryan Clampin and Gene Kennedy (both knee) also remain sidelined but Charlie Daniels trained yesterday.

The former Bournemouth defender is set to return after dropping out of the U's starting line-up against Swindon Town, in the Papa John's Trophy.

All of Colchester's loanees have been made available to play by their parent clubs.

Predicted line-ups

Colchester United: Turner, Tchamadeu, Chambers, Smith, Daniels, Skuse, Chilvers, Jasper, Judge, Dobra, Sears

Wigan Athletic: Amos, Massey, Whatmough, Tilt, Pearce, Bayliss, Power, Keane, Edwards, Lang, McClean

Colchester boss Hayden Mullins on tomorrow's game:

“A cup run breeds confidence.

“We’ve got nothing to lose and we’re at home.

“The FA Cup has thrown up a lot of different cup shocks through the years and why not us?

“If we attack the game and take care of us, then we’ve got a good chance.

“On paper, it looks a formality and everyone will look at it and say they can tell what’s going to happen but until the whistle goes, who knows?

“We’ve got a good chance, we’re at home and the onus is on us."

Last meeting

Colchester and Wigan shared six goals the last time they met, back in March 2016.

The U's played out a 3-3 draw with the Latics at the JobServe Community Stadium in an entertaining League One clash.

Yanic Wildschut's opener was cancelled out by Alex Gilbey, only for Ryan Colclough to restore the Latics' lead before half-time.

Elliot Lee equalised again for Colchester early in the second half and George Moncur's penalty looked to have given the U's victory.

But Will Grigg's 90th-minute penalty secured a point for Wigan.

Familiar face

Gavin Massey is set to return to the club where he played for more than four seasons and made 178 league and cup appearances for Colchester, scoring 21 goals.

After a brief spell at Leyton Orient, he has gone on to make nearly 150 league and cup appearances for the Latics.

Former U's goalkeeper Jamie Jones is also a member of the Wigan squad.

Opposition view

Wigan boss Leam Richardson told Latics TV: “We want to get into the hat for the third round.

“We know the history of the competition here - including in my time at the club and the cup runs that we’ve been on.

"Sunday will have our full attention and we’re going into a really good but challenging week of football.

“Fingers crossed that we give a good account of ourselves and get a positive result.”

Odds

Colchester are 14/5 to cause an upset tomorrow. Wigan are 4/5, with the draw 5/2.

Referee

The man in the middle tomorrow is Scotland's Carl Brook.

He has shown 52 yellow cards so far this season, along with four reds.

FA Cup fixtures this weekend:

Today: Buxton v Morecambe, AFC Wimbledon v Cheltenham Town, Bristol Rovers v Sutton United, Burton Albion v Port Vale, Cambridge United v Exeter City, Carlisle United v Shrewsbury Town, Doncaster Rovers v Mansfield Town, Ipswich Town v Barrow, Leyton Orient v Tranmere Rovers, Lincoln City v Hartlepool United, Portsmouth v Harrogate Town, Walsall v Swindon Town, Yeovil Town Stevenage.

Tomorrow: Rochdale v Plymouth Argyle, Colchester United v Wigan Athletic, Kidderminster Harriers v FC Halifax Town, Salford City v Chesterfield.