Arsenal and Manchester United face each other today at the Emirates with both the teams being in a delicate situation in the league standings. Manchester United’s draw against Swansea City opened the floodgates for the top four race as the difference is too close between the teams ranked third to sixth.
Arsenal must win today as anything other than three points will call it curtains for their bid to reach the top four. The Gunners will have to make history to clinch a victory against Jose Mourinho’s side as Arsene Wenger has yet to defeat the Special One in a league game in 15 attempts.
Things will certainly unfold in an interesting manner in a few hours time as the hints by Jose Mourinho regarding his team selection will have opened up an interesting point of discussion as to whether he will follow up his words with action or not. Either way, it won’t be easy for Arsenal and the result will be keenly followed by the likes of Liverpool and Manchester City.
Team news
Granit Xhaka is set to miss tomorrow’s clash with an ankle issue whereas the duo of Shkodran Mustafi and David Ospina have returned to full training and will feature in the match day squad. Lucas Perez is a doubt for the Gunners.
Manchester United have a long absentee list with Marouane Fellaini being suspended for tomorrow’s clash. Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Luke Shaw, Marcos Rojo and Tim Fosu-Mensah are out of contention with injury issues and Ashley Young is also doubtful after being subbed off early with an apparent hamstring injury against Swansea City.
Form guide
Manchester United come into this game after an important away 1-0 win over Celta Vigo in the semifinals of the Europa League. Arsenal are also unbeaten in their last four home games as the Gunners will be eager to make a statement after their drubbing at the hands of Tottenham Hotspur last weekend.
In the 224 matches that these teams have played against one another, United have a clear advantage over the Gunners. The Red Devils have won 96 games whereas Arsenal have emerged victorious 47 times. The last meeting between the two sides took place at Old Trafford earlier this season where the score was 1-1 at the final whistle with Olivier Giroud scoring a late equaliser for Arsenal.
Arsenal: L-W-W-W-L
Manchester United: W-D-D-W-W
Predicted lineups
Arsenal: Cech, Gabriel, Koscielny, Mustafi, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Monreal, Ramsey, Coquelin, Ozil, Sanchez, Giroud
Manchester United: De Gea, Darmian, Jones, Smalling, Blind, Carrick, Herrera, Lingard, Mata, Mkhitaryan, Martial
Predicted score
Arsenal 1-1 Manchester United
Odds
Arsenal win: 17/20
Manchester United win: 16/5
Draw: 13/5