Internet Desk: Jose Mourinho will have plenty of reasons to worry when he takes on Arsenal in a Premier League clash on Saturday at the Old Trafford. United quartet Luke Shaw, Marouane Fellaini, Antonio Valencia and Wayne Rooney are all having slight niggles. Rooney off course is in doubts following his drunken act that forced him to apologize to FA. The United captain is also suffering from a minor knee injury that kept him out of the friendly against Spain last Wednesday. With Zlatan Ibrahimovic missing the tie due to suspension, Mourinho might play Marcus Rashford up front.
Arsene Wenger too has injury headaches going into the match. The Arsenal manager will assess Alexis Sanchez, who started for Chile on Tuesday despite suffering a hamstring problem earlier in the international break. Right-back Hector Bellerin is already ruled out for four weeks because of an ankle injury, while Santi Cazorla remains out with an Achilles problem.
The Gunners are currently six points clear of the Red Devils as they sit pretty at the number four spot of the 2016 Premier League table after the completion of 11 rounds.
Although the London-based side has remained unbeaten in the Premier League since its opening day match against Liverpool at home, its league record against United at Old Trafford would make sure that Arsenal wouldn’t take the fixture lightly at all.
Arsenal has remained winless at Old Trafford since September 2006 when its erstwhile Togolese center-forward, Emmanuel Adebayor scored the only goal of the match to hand them a priceless three-pointer. The two sides had last met at Old Trafford in February earlier this year – an encounter which saw Marcus Rashford scoring a brace on his league debut as the Red Devils managed to edge past Arsenal by 3-2.
Moreover, the Frenchman’s lack of good results against his Portuguese counterpart, Jose Mourinho is something the Arsenal fans will have at the back of their minds as they travel to Manchester tomorrow. But with Mourinho not being able to revive his Midas touch since Chelsea’s disastrous slump earlier last season, it might be the perfect opportunity for Wenger to turn the tables.
Former Manchester United regular, Gary Neville – however – believes that Mourinho just needs some time to work on the team chemistry since it is nothing but inconsistency that has cost the Red Devils three league matches up until now.
Team News:
Manchester United:
According to the Red Devils’ website, “United could have a few absentees on Saturday. One man who is definitely out is Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who is suspended for one game after picking up his fifth booking of the season against Swansea.”
“The Swede’s absence means the likes of Rashford, Anthony Martial, and Wayne Rooney could feature up front, though the captain will be assessed after missing England’s friendly against Spain with a minor knee injury.”
Arsenal FC:
The Gunners have been taken down by the ‘November curse’ yet again as Hector Bellerin has been ruled out for four weeks. The 21-year-old picked up an ankle injury during Arsenal 1-1 outing against Tottenham Hotspurs on 6th November 2016.
On the bright side, Arsenal’s Chilean forward, Alexis Sanchez has ‘declared himself fit’ for the match against United. Now, whether the team management will decide to field him at Old Trafford for the full 90 minutes – however – is a completely different story.
Predicted Line-ups:
Manchester United:
David de Gea, Matteo Darmian, Phil Jones, Marcos Rojo, Daley Blind, Michael Carrick, Ander Herrera, Paul Pogba, Juan Mata, Wayne Rooney and Marcus Rashford.
Arsenal FC:
Petr Cech, Carl Jenkinson, Shkodran Mustafi, Laurent Koscielny, Nacho Monreal, Granit Xhaka, Francis Coquelin, Theo Walcott, Mesut Ozil, Alex Iobi and Alexis Alejandro Sanchez.
Winning Odds:
The winning odds are 55-45 in favor of Manchester United.
The Ultimate Derby Weekend:
Keeping the United-Arsenal tie aside, Europe is all set to host three more heavyweight derby over the weekend as Real Madrid meets Atletico Madrid in La Liga, Inter Milan face AC Milan in Serie A and Bayern Munich takes on Borussia Dortmund in Bundesliga.
It would be interesting to see which teams come out on top of each other and which fixtures end in a stalemate in this highly interesting weekend that Europe has to offer.