After a ding-dong game against Watford, Manchester United left Vicarage Road with three points, brimming with confidence and three points ahead of Chelsea. Ashley Young starred for Manchester United with two fantastic strikes in the first half but the worst part of the game was surely the poor second half for Marcos Rojo who was bullied by the Watford right wing-back and conceded a penalty and was at fault for Doucoure’s strike as he failed to properly block the cross. 

The Red Devils return to London this Saturday to face Arsenal and with Manchester City facing West Ham at home only a win will do. Arsenal will also be fancying their chances against United after hammering Huddersfield at home 5-0 but will be wary that Alexandre Lacazette is not fit for the match and so will almost certainly call upon Olivier Giroud to lead the line for the Gunners. 

For United, Nemanja Matic’s injury suffered against Watford might be a cause of concern for Jose Mourinho as the Serbian midfielder has had a dominant role in the Manchester United squad since day one and whose prescence will surely be missed in this game of all games. Eric Bailly and Phil Jones are still sidelined so Jose Mourinho is likely to put out the same back five as last time out as to match Arsenal’s formation. 

If Manchester United park the bus and hit Arsenal on the counter it may backfire as it did against Chelsea and Liverpool but having a go at the weaknesses of Arsenal’s defence which have been exploited by Liverpool, Manchester City and to a certain extent, Leicester at the start of the season, could prove to be a match winning tactic and might get the three points necessary to keep on track with the noisy neighbours.

PREDICTED LINEUP:

De Gea, Valencia, Lindelof, Smalling, Rojo, Young, Pogba, Fellaini, Martial, Rashford, Lukaku

PREDICTED SCORE: Arsenal 1-2 Manchester United