Arsenal vs Man Utd preview | Latest team news | Expected line-ups’s | Prediction

Arsenal welcome fierce rivals Manchester United to the Emirates Stadium this evening for a heavy weight clash in the 4th round of the FA Cup.

The Gunners eased past the 3rd round with a comfortable win 3-0 at Blackpool while United beat Reading 2-0 at Old Trafford two weeks ago but the Premier League giants know they’ll be in for a much sterner test this evening.

We’ve seen some wonderful games between Arsenal and United down the years and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was right at the heart of the fierce rivalry the clubs enjoyed in the late 90’s and early 2000’s so no doubt he’s relishing tonight’s encounter as a manager.

Solskjaer has enjoyed a dream start to life in the Old Trafford hot-seat but this is arguably his greatest test so far as Arsenal are strong at home and head in to the game off the back of an impressive 2-0 win over Chelsea.

Team news

Arsenal were dealt a major blow this week after it was confirmed Hector Bellerin has been ruled out for at least six months with a knee ligament injury that he sustained last weekend.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan is back in light training but this game will come too soon for the attacker so he remains out along with long-term absentees Rob Holding and Danny Welbeck.

Petr Cech, Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Shkodran Mustafi, Alex Iwobi and Mesut Ozil are all pushing for recalls but Unai Emery is expected to name a strong side this evening.

Man Utd have decided to rest David De Gea so Sergio Romero will start in goal but Alexis Sanchez is set to feature against his former side after overcoming a minor hamstring complaint.

Marcus Rashford may not be risked from the start as he picked up a knock against Brighton and has been suffering from fatigue but Luke Shaw is back in contention after recovering from illness.

Chris Smalling is back in light training but he hasn’t made the trip to London so he remains on the sidelines along with Marouane Fellaini and Marcos Rojo.

Expected line-ups

Predicted score

Arsenal 2-1 Man Utd: Arsenal have won 12 of their last 13 FA Cup matches against fellow Premier League sides but United have only lost one of their last 14 FA Cup 4th round ties, so something’s got to give. Solskjaer’s United are on an excellent winning run but Emery’s side have a strong home record and I think that could pivotal tonight. I’m backing the Londoners to edge it 2-1.