The duo will play at least part of the Deepdale friendly as Roberto
Martinez fine-tunes his preparations ahead of the new Premier League
campaign, which is now less than three weeks away.

Martinez is also seeking his first win as Wigan boss, after two draws and two defeats from four matches at the helm.

Those matches, however, have been characterised by more substitutions than Sven-Goran Eriksson at his peak could shake a stick at, with Martinez desperate to find out as much as possible about his new squad.

And the Spaniard has again promised to experiment with both his line-up and formation tonight, including a first look at Scotland and McCarthy (right) in Latics colours.

Martinez told the Evening Post: "It is important Jason and James join the group as quickly as possible.
"They have been behind in their preparations, and we will have to take that into account.

"But it's important we add competition to the squad and keep the environment as healthy as possible.
"In that respect it's great news to have Jason and James join the squad, and we do need to keep moving forward.

"Obviously we know the importance of a derby game, but we are still in pre-season and there are things we vitally need to achieve.

"We have Preston, Norwich and maybe a couple more games before the start of the season, and it's important that everyone takes part.

"In every game you play you want to be seeing things that will help you in the Premier League, and we need to show our competitive edge.

"But we are still in pre-season, and it is also important we look at different partnerships and roles.

"There will be a reason behind everything we do, and we will use all the games as well as we can to find out as much as we can about the squad.

"But every game now is going to demand more in terms of sharpness and play, and certain other aspects we need to improve before the start of the season."

However, there will be three noticeable omissions from the Latics line-up, with Jason Koumas, Charles N'Zogbia and Olivier Kapo sitting out the game through injury.

Koumas and N'Zogbia are nursing slight knocks picked up on the Austrian tour, while Kapo will miss the start of the campaign with his knee
ligament problem.

It is pay on the gate tonight, with unreserved seats priced at £10 adults and £5 concessions.

Meanwhile, the pre-season friendly against Spanish side Almeria on Saturday week (August 8) has been cancelled.

Officials from the La Liga outfit made the decision due to safety concerns over the recent swine flu epidemic.

SPL outfit St Mirren have stepped in to provide the first opposition at the newly-named DW Stadium, with tickets just £5 (concessions £1).

Tickets for the first home game of the season against Wolves are on general sale, with prices starting at £20 (£5).