Man Utdvs.Arsenal

While victory for the Red Devils would give them their 100th triumph over the Gunners across all competitions, the North London giants could win successive top-flight games at Old Trafford for the first time in the Premier League era.

Match preview

An Iberian manager, only in his 30s, taking charge of one of England's most successful clubs of all time and struggling to inspire an immediate turnaround. Criteria that could be used to describe either one of Sunday's sides, although Ruben Amorim has already conceded that he does not expect the Mikel Arteta treatment from his superiors.

While the current Arsenal boss was given ample time and resources to turn the Gunners into title challengers again, Amorim may never be far from the axe so long as Man United's pitiful form continues, and the less said about their domestic season as a whole the better.

As well as languishing in a measly 14th place in the Premier League table, Man United's FA Cup title defence was in tatters last weekend thanks to Fulham and their own former Gunner Bernd Leno, meaning that their final shot at redeeming a woeful campaign lies in the Europa League.

A 1-1 draw with Real Sociedad in Thursday's last-16 first leg at least puts Amorim's men in an advantageous position before next week's return fixture, but they have now only won two of their last seven in all competitions, and neither of those victories over Ipswich Town or Leicester City was convincing by any stretch.

Furthermore, the 20-time English champions have failed to win consecutive Premier League games all season long and have conceded multiple goals in six of their last seven top-flight games at Old Trafford, but exorcising those demons could allow the hosts to celebrate win number 100 over their red-and-white foes.

As Man United attempt to make it 100 up against Arsenal, Arteta will make it 200 up in the Gunners chair, as the Spaniard reaches a double-century of Premier League games in charge of Sunday's visitors and does so seeking a 119th victory to go alongside it.

Only Sir Alex Ferguson, Pep Guardiola, Jose Mourinho and Jurgen Klopp have earned more than 118 wins from their first 200 games in the competition, but each member of that esteemed quartet has something that the Gunners boss does not; a Premier League title as a head coach.

The Spaniard's agonising wait to deliver another top-flight crown to North London will seemingly go on for at least another year, as failures to make the net ripple against Nottingham Forest and West Ham United have left them 13 points below Liverpool, whose lead will stretch to 16 on Saturday unless they somehow fail to beat Southampton at home.

However, Arsenal astonishingly defied their selection crisis in the final third to annihilate PSV Eindhoven 7-1 in midweek, becoming the first team to ever score seven goals away from home in a Champions League knockout game as they prepare for an inevitable quarter-final with either Atletico Madrid or Real Madrid.

Arteta's rejuvenated attackers will need to be on song if they are to prolong their exceptional recent sequence against Man United, who have lost each of their last four league games against the Gunners, including a 1-0 defeat in this exact fixture last year.

The visitors are therefore just 90 minutes away from back-to-back league wins at Old Trafford - a feat that they have not achieved since 1979 - but January's FA Cup third-round loss to Amorim's side gives both the red half of Manchester, and indeed the red half of Merseyside, hope.

Manchester United Premier League form:

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Manchester United form (all competitions):

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Arsenal Premier League form:

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Arsenal form (all competitions):

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Team News

Amorim had no good injury news to share in his pre-game press conference on Friday, conceding that both Harry Maguire (knock) and Manuel Ugarte (knock) are unlikely to be back in time for the visit of Arsenal.

The pair should represent two of 11 absentees for Man United, who are also missing Amad Diallo (ankle), Lisandro Martinez (knee), Kobbie Mainoo (calf), Jonny Evans (back), Luke Shaw (hamstring), Mason Mount (hamstring), Altay Bayindir (unspecified) and Tom Heaton (unspecified), as well as the banned Patrick Dorgu.

Owing to Dorgu's suspension and Maguire's absence, Amorim will likely have no choice but to throw Victor Lindelof in for his first Premier League start of the season, unless he takes a punt on former Arsenal product Ayden Heaven.

The latter is one of two ex-Gunners hoping to show their old team what they are missing alongside Chido Obi, who made an impression in the cup loss to Fulham, but he will surely not be deemed ready for a start in a contest of this magnitude.

On Arsenal's side, it is also as you were on the fitness front, as Gabriel Martinelli (hamstring), Bukayo Saka (hamstring), Kai Havertz (hamstring), Gabriel Jesus (knee) and Takehiro Tomiyasu (knee) are still sidelined.

Teenage protege Myles Lewis-Skelly was an early sacrifice in the pummelling of PSV, but that was down to red-card risk as opposed to an injury, and the Englishman's indiscipline should not threaten his prospects of a start on Sunday.

Further up the field, Mikel Merino will continue as the number nine in a threadbare attack also comprising Ethan Nwaneri and Leandro Trossard, who is looking to become just the third Arsenal player after Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Emmanuel Adebayor to score in back-to-back Premier League games at Old Trafford.

Manchester United possible starting lineup:

Onana; Yoro, De Ligt, Lindelof; Mazraoui, Casemiro, Fernandes, Dalot; Zirkzee, Garnacho; Hojlund

Arsenal possible starting lineup:

Raya; Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Lewis-Skelly; Odegaard, Partey, Rice; Nwaneri, Merino, Trossard

We say: Manchester United 0-1 Arsenal

After two toothless Premier League performances and a dazzling Champions League display, confidently predicting which version of Arsenal's attack will show up on Sunday is an impossible ask, but a defence-heavy Man United should not afford the visitors as much time and space as PSV did.

Written by

Ben Knapton

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