Tonight sees a marquee clash as Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal and Jose Mourinho’s Manchester United go head to head.
Both teams are in battle for Champions League football, so who will take the three points and move closer to a top four finish?
Team News
Arsenal striker, Alexandre Lacazette will miss this game with a groin injury picked up during Wednesday’s 5-0 win over Huddersfield Town.
Aleix Sanchez meanwhile is expected to feature, despite being subbed last time out with a hamstring complaint.
Nemanja Matic could miss out for Man Utd with a muscle injury, picked up at Watford on Tuesday.
Marouane Fellaini remains out with an on-going knee problem.
Defenders, Eric Bailly and Phil Jones are still sidelined alongside Michael Carrick.
Stat Attack
- Arsenal have lost just one of last five home games against Man Utd (W2, D2). An improvement on record of (W2, L3) from their previous five home games against the Red Devils beforehand.
- A home win will extend Arsenal’s unbeaten home run to 13 and set a new club record for consecutive home wins at start of a season.
- Mourinho has avoided defeat against Wenger in 15 of 17 meetings (W8, D7) but has lost last 11 away games against fellow ‘big six’ members.
- United are looking to record back to back away wins for first time since April (beat Sunderland away 3-0 before winning next away game 2-0 at Burnley).
Physical fight
This game will be a physical fight for United, who average 12.14 fouls away from Old Trafford.
Arsenal meanwhile has a foul average of 9.71, suggesting that they will be playing attacking football here and aiming to dominate the ball.
The ‘Shots’ averages also back this up because Arsenal are clearly a dangerous team at home, given that the opposition have averaged just 7.57 between them to the Gunners’ 19.29 shots.
Arsenal also rule the ‘Shots on Target’ and ‘Goals’ averages over Man Utd, which further suggests that the Red Devils will have to get physical and defend solidly to keep Arsenal out.
Prediction
This should be a lively game with both teams netting but in end, I think Arsenal’s strong home form will give them that edge.
Prediction: Arsenal 2-1 Manchester United
Jake predicts: Arsenal 0-0 Manchester United
Result: Arsenal 1-3 Manchester United