Manchester United welcome Arsenal to Old Trafford in a blockbuster Super Sunday clash between two former Premier League champions.
Victory could take Man Utd as high as ninth whilst Arsenal will be looking to improve to seventh with a win.
Team News
Alex Telles is ruled out for Man Utd following a positive Coronavirus test which has already kept him out of their last two matches.
Anthony Martial serves the last of a three match ban whilst Eric Bailey (muscle), Phil Jones (knee) and Jesse Lingard (hip) remain absent.
Arsenal could welcome David Luiz back from a muscle injury which saw him sit out Thursday’s Europa League win over Dundalk.
Rob Holding (hamstring), Pablo Mari (ankle), Calum Chambers and Gabriel Martinelli (both knee) remain sidelined until at least after the November international break.
Stat Attack
- Man Utd are unbeaten in three of last five league meetings against Arsenal (W1, D2, L2).
- Arsenal are winless in their last 13 league trips to Old Trafford (D5, L8).
- Both teams have missed two penalties apiece in 56 previous Premier League meetings between Man Utd and Arsenal, with Utd scoring four of their six penalty kicks to Arsenal’s one in three attempts.
- United’s David De Gea has made three sweeper clearances in five league appearances this season, matching his total number of sweeper clearances in 38 appearances last campaign.
- David Luiz is the first defender to have played more than one through ball this season in the Premier League coming into this weekend, having played two through balls in five appearances.
Prediction
Man Utd finally seem to be finding their defensive solidness after clean sheets in their last two matches combined with attacking performances, with their varied creative play which has to be something which Arsenal’s defence needs to be wary of given their recent slump.
Mikel Arteta however clearly sees this game as a priority for Arsenal after resting likes of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette in midweek, although they need to be more clinical than they were against Leicester last Sunday which cost them a result.
I personally feel that this is a tough one to call because Utd have clearly improved but this is a huge test of their progress given their recent home issues domestically, whilst Arsenal will be feeling the impact of this Thursday-Sunday pattern now so am going for a draw.
Prediction: Manchester United 1-1 Arsenal
Result: Manchester United 0-1 Arsenal