Having drawn with Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea in the second half of the season, United are the last of the big four in their sights.
What a result it would be if Latics could hold Sir Alex Ferguson's men on the day they're going for the title.

Until January, their record against the Premier League's leading clubs was starting to border on the embarrassing.
Twenty consecutive defeats over two years had seen Latics develop almost a phobia of playing the big hitters.

But the arrival of Steve Bruce changed that mentality, and the 1-1 draw at Liverpool on January 2 bucked the trend.
Arsenal were then held to a goalless draw at the JJB
in March and last month Latics went to Chelsea and grabbed a dramatic 1-1 draw. Now for United.

Kilbane thinks the difference in results has been down to Bruce and the belief he gives the players ahead of matches.
The stand-in skipper said: "The manager has loads of passion but to say he only has that, is doing him an injustice.

"His knowledge of different situations is great, and the games with Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea spring to mind. Steve Bruce knows how to approach these big games, he gives us advice, what to do in certain
situations.

"Sometimes we will sit off teams, allow them possession, but once they get into certain areas we get into them.
"The manager gives us great advice in the key games, that is why we have started picking up points against the big teams. His knowledge and willingness to learn about the other teams is important."

Latics have gone from relegation certainties to mid-table battlers in the five-and-a-half months Bruce has been in charge.
Even the most optimistic Wiganer feared the worst for the club's Premier League status as they slid from a brief
stay at the top of the table in August to second-bottom by November.

Bruce's appointment turned out to be something of a masterstroke
by Dave Whelan, even though, at the time, the chairman's first choice was to bring back Paul Jewell.
In hindsight, Whelan would probably admit a return for Jewell would not have been the best long-term option.

And Latics are now benefiting from the fresh ideas of Bruce and his
assistant Eric Black, who has proved a popular figure among the players. Kilbane said: "Our form under
Steve Bruce, if spread over the season, would put us in the top half of the table.

"The improvement is there to see, the manager has got us working hard
every day and I have to say the training has been brilliant.
"Eric Black coming in with Steve was a big bonus, under the two of them we've picked up some good results.
"It hasn't been pretty at times – we've had to grind out some points – but we've also played some decent stuff.

"We have more than deserved to reach 40 points and it was terrific we got ourselves safe with the win at Aston Villa rather than
relying on other results.
"It's early days to say where Steve Bruce rates in the list of managers I've worked with, but he's already helped me considerably.

"I've been playing left-back most of the season, which isn't my natural position, and he's been able to give me some good advice.
"The gaffer is right in my earhole when I'm playing on his side of the pitch.
"He was a defender himself who has seen it, done it, and played with some world-class players.

"He knows how to get the best out of players and has certainly helped us."
While many of the Latics squad will be heading off on their summer holidays after the United game, Kilbane's season will go into overtime.

The 86-cap Republic of Ireland international joins up with Giovanni Trapattoni's squad for a fortnight of training and matches.
Kilbane said: "We join up next Thursday and the squad is together until the end of May.
"We're spending a couple of days in Dublin and then we go to Portugal for some training.

"When we come back we play Serbia at Croke Park and then Colombia at
Fulham's Craven Cottage ground.
"The end of the season is time you should really be spending with your
family, but I've got to keep focused for a couple more weeks."