Latics were confident that the game would go ahead earlier on Friday, but once it emerged that the undersoil heating at the DW Stadium had failed during late afternoon, it always seemed unlikely the encounter would go ahead. Referee Stuart Attwell inspected the pitch at 8.30am on Saturday morning and quickly deemed the surface unplayable. It now means only the games between Arsenal and Everton (3pm) and Birmingham and Manchester United (5.30pm) will go ahead in the top flight on Saturday. West Ham's clash with Wolves on Sunday (1.30pm) still has the green light at this stage. In the Football League, only five matches in total go ahead with the Championship games between Cardiff v Blackpool, Coventry v Barnsley and Derby v Scunthorpe (all 3pm) somehow beating the freeze. The games at Leeds and Norwich are the only surviving League One fixtures, while the decision to call off Northampton's meeting with Chesterfield means there are no games in League Two. Rangers' Scottish Cup fourth-round tie at Hamilton will go ahead on Sunday, barring a serious deterioration in the weather, following an inspection at New Douglas Park. The tie is one of just six remaining from an original list of 16.
