Manchester United travel back down to London following their 1-1 draw at Crystal Palace as they aim to do the double over Arsenal for the first time since 2017/18. League leaders, Arsenal know a defeat could allow City to move to just two points off them and United would be just five away as well. A win would be seriously something for the home side and would keep a slim but healthy margin from the reigning champions as they await playing the Cityzens both home and away.

Manchester United weren’t in a title race until their win over Manchester City and despite failing to take advantage and beat Crystal Palace, being eight points away with half of the season to play is certainly still an attainable target for right now. However, if they don’t want to fade away and lose the momentum they have built since the World Cup, they will need a positive result and certainly not lose. With one crucial absentee for United and possibly another, this does leave the away side as heavy underdogs, which could play into their hands. Here’s all you need to know:

Arsenal vs Manchester United Match Information:

Teams: Arsenal and Manchester United
Date: Sunday 22nd January 2023
KO Time: 16:30 GMT
Location: The Emirates Stadium
Managers: Mikel Arteta and Erik ten Hag
Referee: Anthony Taylor

Team News:

Arsenal

Arsenal are missing Reiss Nelson due to a hamstring injury who joins Soares and Elneny on the injury list. Leandro Trossard was registered in time to be available to make his debut against United. In his last home match against United he got a goal and two assists in a 4-0 win. The Gunners missed Thomas Partey for the defeat at Old Trafford but while Arteta will be pleased to have the Ghanaian available he will be as pleased to see United’s main anchor unavailable.

Manchester United

As mentioned, Manchester United have a crucial absentee. Casemiro who has been nothing short of sensational, has accumulated five yellow cards. He missed the cut off point by a single game and so will miss the trip to the Emirates. Anthony Martial came off at half time against City and was not seen for the Palace game nor in training on Thursday. He may join fellow absentees, Diogo Dalot, Donny van de Beek and Axel Tuanzebe for the umpteenth time this season. Jack Butland is set to be on the bench for this game after being cup-tied against his parent club midweek. Jadon Sancho has resumed full training but may only be available for the bench. This may not be the game to bring him back for.

Arsenal vs Manchester United Interesting Facts:

• Manchester United have not won at the Emirates in the Premier League since 2017. A brace from Jesse Lingard and a rare Antonio Valencia goal secured a 3-1 win. However, the star of the show was David de Gea with a record-equalling 13 saves to deny Wenger’s men.
• Marcus Rashford has scored 24 goals and 9 assists against the Big Six. This includes 4 goals and 4 assists in 15 career games against Arsenal. However, he has never scored at the Emirates.
• Bruno Fernandes missed a penalty in his last match at the Emirates, he has not converted one in 90 minutes for United since May 2021 against Aston Villa.

Predicted XI:

I expect very few changes to this team. I think Malacia returns to the team with Shaw continuing as a left centre back while Martinez regains his match sharpness. Casemiro is suspended and so I expect McTominay and Fred to provide a good shield for Eriksen in the hole. I think Antony gets dropped after giving the ball away numerous occasions and in bad areas and Bruno will get hoiked out wide. This may work due to the role Zinchenko has for Arsenal but if Tierney plays, it could get tricky. Rashford should start out wide with Weghorst up front but I can see Rashford starting up front with Garnacho getting a chance to run at Ben White.

Predicted XI (4-2-3-1): De Gea; Wan-Bissaka, Varane, Shaw, Malacia; McTominay, Fred; Fernandes, Eriksen, Rashford; Weghorst

Predicted Score:

I can’t say I’m confident for this one. Arsenal are flying and playing sensational stuff. What’s worse is they are pouncing on any and every mistake so the team has to be flawless. I feel confident our defence can deal with Arsenal’s attack, especially with Wan-Bissaka in the team. However, it’s the midfield battle that worries me and if Partey prevents our attacking players from coping. I think on the break, United will cause problems and if they take their chances, they can win. I’ll go for a draw but I think it really boils down to who scores first.

United to draw 1-1