The main attraction in this weekend’s Premier League fixtures involves traditional heavyweights Manchester United and Arsenal at Old Trafford on Sunday (live Sunday at 9am ET on NBCSN in the USA).
The Red Devils will be looking for revenge after the Gunners thrashed them 3-0 in the first clash of the season in early October, which ended a run of eight league games without a win against United for Arsene Wenger’s men.
Louis van Gaal’s side have been decent enough in the big games at home this season with wins against Liverpool and Tottenham followed by 0-0 draws against Manchester City and Chelsea.
They will be hoping to close the gap on Manchester City, who are involved in the Capital One Cup, to three points but they can as well fall to seventh in the table if they lose and other results go against them.
Arsenal will be looking to bounce back from a 2-0 home defeat against Barcelona in the Champions League with a win that would keep the pressure firmly on leaders Leicester City.
Wenger’s side do not have a good record at Old Trafford with no wins and six defeats in their last eight games there but their victory earlier in the season may just spur them on to breaking that dreadful run.
Team news
Arsenal are expected to name an unchanged lineup to the side that lost in midweek with Olivier Giroud leading the line while Laurent Koscielny pairs with Per Mertesacker in a back four also comprising of Hector Bellerin and Nacho Monreal.
Mesut Ozil will be looking to add to his 17 assists while Alexis Sanchez and Theo Walcott take their place on either side of the German midfielder. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain picked up an injury against Barca and he will be unavailable for Sunday. Gabriel Paulista (hamstring) could start from the bench if he recovers in time for the game.
Manchester United on the other hand are top of the Premier League injury table with 14 players on the sidelines. Anthony Martial became the latest casualty during the week with a hamstring problem but he could recover in time to lead the attack in Wayne Rooney’s absence.
Chris Smalling (shoulder), Borthwick-Jackson (knock) and De Gea (knee) are all doubtful while Bastian Schweinsteiger, Phil Jones, Ashley Young, Antonio Valencia, Luke Shaw and Adnan Januzaj are definitely out of this one.
Predicted lineups
