McCarthy is rated 50-50 by Roberto Martinez after suffering a hamstring injury in the draw against Stoke last week.
Ghana goalkeeper Richard Kingson is unavailable after returning from the African Nations Cup with a torn muscle and Steven Gohouri has recently been troubled by a hamstring injury.
Martinez, who otherwise has a fully-fit squad, is still to decide whether or not to hand new signing Victor Moses his first start.
Latics (from): Kirkland, Bramble, Caldwell, Scharner, Boyce, Figueroa, N'Zogbia, Diame, Moreno, McCarthy, Thomas, Scotland, Gomez, Rodallega, Melchiot, Sinclair, Moses, Amaya, Watson, Stojkovic.
