It’s been a bit of a frustrating week really for Manchester United. They’ve won two league games against Brighton and Hove Albion and Watford but then had to watch Manchester City get late goals against Huddersfield and Southampton to maintain their eight-point lead at the top. Now they go to the Emirates to take on in-form Arsenal and can’t afford to lose this game.
Arsenal start the weekend in fourth place and would happily stay there for the rest of the season to get back in the Champions League. They are 12 points behind the league leaders but only four adrift of second-placed Manchester United.
The ‘Wenger Out’ brigade are having a quiet time at the moment with Arsenal in good form at present. The news that Sanchez and Ozil won’t be sold in January may not have been totally believed by their fans but they can’t complain about a recent string of wins, especially when one of them was against Tottenham.
Seven home games have produced seven victories and the win at Burnley showed their away form is improving too. Midweek saw them beat sinking Huddersfield 5-0 with Mezut Ozil in form with two assists and a goal. They suffered a major blow though with Alexandre Lacazette likely to be out for a few weeks with a groin strain. It’s a lot easier doing that against Huddersfield though than it is against Manchester United. Arsenal fans will have been delighted with that recent win over Tottenham but beating Manchester United would be a big step in the right direction even though a title challenge looks out of the question.
Manchester United have the chance to narrow the gap between them and the league leaders to five points, with City not playing until Sunday. Looking at the way West Ham defended at Everton on Wednesday, City look set for three points this weekend, so United may need to win this to keep the gap at the top in single figures before hosting their rivals on December 10th.
Just like Arsenal, Manchester United haven’t had a great time playing away in the Premier League this season. They have 11 points from their seven away league matches compared to City’s maximum score of 21 and are in danger of losing the title on the road. They had lost two straight away games before winning 4-2 at Watford on Tuesday. Two goals from Ashley Young helped give them a 3-0 lead but Jose Mourinho was furious when seeing the home side get back in the game at 3-2 before a wonder goal from Lingard clinched the three points. They can’t afford slips like that at the Emirates this weekend.
Conclusion
Manchester City will be sitting at home on Saturday teatime begging for this game to end in a draw. That’s the most likely result in this game but it’d be disastrous for both side’s title hopes if City beat West Ham on Sunday. Arsenal have been in impressive form at home for a fair while now with 12 straight home league wins in the past seven months and that includes a 2-0 win over United in May. This is a big test for both sides and the midfield battle between Ozil and Pogba should be fascinating. A bet on a score-draw can be a winner.
The Key Stats
Last Five Premier League Results – Most recent first
Arsenal – WWWLW
Manchester United – WWWLW
Head to Head – Last Five League Meetings
07/05/17 – Arsenal 2 Manchester United 0
19/11/16 – Manchester United 1 Arsenal 1
28/02/16 – Manchester United 3 Arsenal 2
04/10/15 – Arsenal 3 Manchester United 0
17/05/15 – Manchester United 1 Arsenal 1
- Arsenal have lost one of their last six games against Manchester United.
- Both teams have scored in five of the last seven league and cup games between these two sides.
- Arsenal have scored in 11 of their last 12 home games against Manchester United in all competitions.
- Arsenal have won all seven of their home league games this season and conceded just one goal in the last six.
- Arsenal have one loss in their last nine Premier League games.
- Arsenal have won their last 12 home league games with one loss in the last 25.
- Arsenal have kept nine clean sheets in their last 12 home league matches.
- Manchester United have lost two of their last three away league matches.
- Three of the last five Manchester United away league games have had under 2.5 goals scored in them.
- Manchester United have conceded in their last four away league and cup games.