Arsenal vs Man United. Arsene Wenger vs Alex Ferguson. Roy Keane vs Patrick Vieira. Thierry Henry vs Ruud Van Nistelrooy.
From the late 90s to the early 2000s, the biggest rivalry in English football was between Arsenal and Manchester United. As both English giants competed for the English Premier League and the domestic titles and enjoyed successful seasons, their squads boasted some of the best players in World football.
Today, reality is much less glamorous for both clubs. Arsenal have finished 8th in the EPL for two straight seasons and Manchester United are no longer one of the best football clubs in the country/world.
This week, Arsenal went away to Chelsea and shocked the betting experts with a 4-2 win, while Manchester United lost 4-0 at Liverpool in embarrassing fashion without Cristiano Ronaldo. This season, they’ve failed to win a single game without their star forward and will be hoping his return on Saturday will spur them on to victory against Arsenal.
Which of these two teams can win this weekend and strengthen their claim for a top four finish? Read on below for our match preview!
Arsenal vs Man United H2H
The away team has dominated their H2H games with 26 wins to Arsenal’s 16 wins. They’ve also drawn 16 games.
Arsenal have amassed 57 points from 32 games with a (18-3-11) win-draw-loss record to United’s 54 points from 31 games and a win-draw-loss record of (15-9-9). The Red Devils still have the benefit of a game in hand, however.
In their last 10 H2H competitive fixtures, The Red Devils have 4 wins, compared to Arsenal’s 3 victories. They’ve also drawn 3 games in that period.
Form Guide
Arsenal have won two and lost three of their last five games. (Form: W-L-L-L-W) while Manchester United have won just one game, drawn one and lost three of their last five games. (Form: L-W-L-D-L)
In Arsenal’s last big game, they had only 32% of possession away at Chelsea but managed to score four goals from an xG of 2.32 after taking 14 shots, three more than the home team. In Man United’s last big game, they had only 28% of possession against a dominant Liverpool side and scored 0 goals from an xG of 0.11, taking only 2 shots over 90 minutes.
* xG – expected goals. A stat used to measure the quality of chances created by a team. The stats above show that Arsenal outperformed their expected goals while United created low-quality chances and still underperformed.
Arsenal vs Man United Team News
For the Gunners, Kieran Tierney (Knee injury) and Thomas Partey (Muscle injury) are out while Takehiro Tomiyasu could still make the bench if he passes a fitness test ahead of the match. We expect Mikel Arteta to go with the same formation he beat Chelsea with, after it worked so well the last time out.
Our expected Arsenal line up: Aaron Ramsdale, Ben White, Gabriel Magalhães, Rob Holding, Nuno Tavares, Granit Xhaka, Mohamed Elneny, Bukayo Saka, Martin Ødegaard, Emile Smith-Rowe, Eddie Nketiah. (3-4-2-1)
Manchester United players; Edinson Cavani (calf injury), Scott McTominay (foot injury), Fred (hip injury), Luke Shaw (Shin injury), Paul Pogba (Calf injury) and Raphael Varane (muscle injury) are all out of the game.
Our expected Manchester United line up: David de Gea. Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Harry McGuire, Victor Lindelof, Alex Telles. Nemanja Matic, Scott McTominay. Jadon Sancho, Bruno Fernandes, Anthony Elanga. Cristiano Ronaldo. (4-2-3-1)
Key Match Stats:
- Arsenal have played well at home this season. They have the 3rd-best home record in the EPL this season with 32 points from 16 home games while the away side, United, are the 8th-best away side in the EPL with 23 points from 16 games.
- Manchester United score 1.6 goals/game and concede 1.5 goals/game this season while Arsenal score less goals per game (1.5 goals/game) and also concede less goals than the away team (1.2 goals/game).
- Arsenal have scored 6 goals in their last 5 games (1.2 goals/game) while Manchester United have scored just 4 goals in their last 5 games (0.8 goals/game)
- Arsenal have had more overall shots and higher possession stats than Man United in two of their last three H2H games.
- Despite Arsenal’s overall dominance and control of the game in their recent H2H fixtures, Man United have recorded a higher xG in the last three games. The two teams have also each scored 3 goals in the last 3 H2H games.
- Arsenal’s best player this season has been Bukayo Saka who has a statline of 10 goals and 5 assists in the EPL. Man United’s best player, Cristiano Ronaldo, has a statline of 15 goals and 3 assists so far this season.
- There have been at least 9 corners in each of their last 3 H2H games.
Arsenal vs Man United Prediction
The stats back these bets: Over 8.5 corners, Under 7.5 bookings and a punt on Cristiano Ronaldo to score at anytime.
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*DISCLAIMER: Odds are subject to change
