Man Utd vs Arsenal Preview | Injury Boosts For Utd | Expected Line-Ups | Prediction

Manchester United desperately need a positive result to boost their chances of finishing in the top four when they take on Arsenal at Old Trafford this evening.

The Red Devils had to come from 2-0 down to salvage a point against Southampton at the weekend with the game overshadowed by speculation surrounding an apparent fresh bust-up between Jose Mourinho and Paul Pogba.

The United boss has played down those reports but he’s under increasing pressure to get their season back on track as the Manchester giants head in to tonight’s game sitting eighth in the Premier League and eight points adrift of fourth-placed Arsenal.

Unai Emery will take his in-form Gunners side to Old Trafford in buoyant mood having extended their unbeaten run to 19 matches in all competitions with an impressive 4-2 comeback win over Tottenham in Sunday’s North London Derby.

Another win for Arsenal tonight would keep the pressure on third-placed Chelsea but it would also open up a huge 11 point gap from United so the north Londoners will be desperate to put another nail in Mourinho’s coffin.

Team news

United will hand late fitness tests to a number of players with Mourinho facing huge selection dilemmas. Eric Bailly, Chris Smalling and Antonio Valencia are among those needing late checks but they’ve all been included in the provisional squad so could be in contention.

Matteo Darmian is available after recovering from a knock but Luke Shaw and Phil Jones look set to miss out after being forced off with injuries against Southampton. Romelu Lukaku and Marcus Rashford also picked up knocks at the weekend but are expected to be available against Arsenal.

Ashley Young is suspended after collecting his fifth booking of the season while Victor Lindelof and Alexis Sanchez remain sidelined through injury.

Arsenal will be without Granit Xhaka after he picked up his fifth booking at the weekend while Mesut Ozil is a doubt after missing the last two matches with a back problem.

Nacho Monreal is back in full training after a hamstring injury but he’s unlikely to feature tonight while Laurent Koscielny, Konstantinos Mavropanos and Danny Welbeck remain sidelined.

Expected Line-ups

Prediction

Man Utd are unbeaten in their last 11 home league games against Arsenal – winning 8 and drawing 3 – but Arsenal are on a fantastic run and will be confident after their win over Tottenham. United have conceded 23 goals so far this season while Arsenal have let in 18 in their 14 games so I think we’ll see goals in this game. I’m going for a 2-2 draw.