Last weekend saw a potentially defining moment in the title race, as Manchester City eked out a 1-0 win at Bournemouth, Liverpool failed to do likewise as they were held 0-0 at Goodison Park in one of the most boring Merseyside derby matches in many a year. That result meant that Manchester City remained top of the Premier League by a single point and means that for the first time since January, Liverpool have lost the advantage they held in the title race.
City face Watford at the Etihad this weekend in a game that they will feel confident of winning and they could be four points clear of Liverpool by the time the Reds face off against Burnley at Anfield on Sunday lunchtime. Later that day, Chelsea face Wolves in what should be an interesting game at Stamford Bridge, but there’s no doubt that the biggest game this weekend comes at the Emirates Stadium, where 5th placed Arsenal face off against their old rivals, 4th placed Manchester United.
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Before we bring you our tips for the Arsenal v Manchester United clash, let’s take a look at the fixtures for the whole weekend in the Premier League.
Full List of Fixtures for Matchday 30
*Odds correct with bet365 as of 11.25am on Tuesday 5th March 2019
It is clear that the last game of the weekend is the biggest one, as fifth placed Arsenal take on fourth placed Manchester United, knowing that a victory would see them leapfrog the Red Devils and move into the Champions League places.
Let’s now take a closer look at this big game which kicks off at 4.30pm on Sunday at the Emirates Stadium.
Arsenal v Manchester United Preview
This Premier League clash will be the third time the teams have met this season. The Gunners held United to a 2-2 draw at Old Trafford when Jose Mourinho was the manager, but they fell to a 1-3 defeat to United in the FA Cup Fourth Round in January at the Emirates. The Gunners have won just one of the last seven games between the sides with Unietd winning three of the last four and on both their previous two visits to the Emirates, both by winning scorelines of 3-1/
Should United win this game it would be their 100th victory over Arsenal in the club’s history and ensure that they open up a gap on the Gunners in the race to secure a place in the Champions League next season.
Alternatively, should Arsenal claim a win then they would leapfrog United in the table into fourth, although both teams will have to watch hoe Chelsea perform with the other London side having a game in hand and the opportunity to leapfrog both in the table should they win that game.
While Arsenal’s injury concerns ahead of the game are relatively light, Manchester United do have several players who are injured and may not be available for the game.
Arsenal – Current Form
- V Tottenham (A) – D 1-1 (Ramsey)
- V Bournemouth (H) – W 5-1 (Ozil, Mkhitaryan, Koscielny, Aubameyang, Lacazette)
- V Southampton (H) – W 2-0 (Lacazette, Mkhitaryan)
- V BATE Borisov (H) – W 3-0 (Volkov Og, Mustafi, Papasthatopoulos)
- V BATE Borisov (A) – L 0-1
- V Huddersfield Town (A) – W 2-1 (Iwobi, Lacazette)
- V Man City (A) – L 1-3 (Koscielny)
- V Cardiff City (H) – W 2-1 (Aubameyang, Lacazette)
- V Man Utd (H) – L 1-3 (Aubameyang)
- V Chelsea (H) – W 2-0 (Lacazette, Koscielny)
Played 10 – Won 6, Drawn 1, Lost 3, Goals Scored 19, Goals Conceded 11
Arsenal – Predicted Team
- Gk – Bernd Leno
- Dr – Shkodran Mustafi
- Dl – Nacho Monreal
- Dc – Laurent Koscielny
- Dc – Stavros Papastathopoulos
- Mc – Granit Xhaka
- Mc – Matteo Guendouzi
- AMc – Aaron Ramsey
- AMl – Alex Iwobi
- AMr – Henrik Mkhitaryan
- Ac – Alexander Lacazette
Key Factors for Arsenal
How Arsenal line up is going to be interesting, will Mustafi continue at right back, will Unai Emery switch to a back three for the game with United? Will Torreira come in for Guendouzi or Ramsey, can Ozil be found a place in the team and will the Arsenal boss bring in Aubameyang to partner Lacazette in attack or will he replace him, or stick with the in form Lacazette? In terms of personnel, Arsenal have the greater choices at the moment, so it is going to be interesting to see who they do go with for what is a crucial game in the season for them.
Man Utd – Current Form
- V Southampton (H) – W 3-2 (Pereira, Lukaku 2)
- V Crystal Palace (A) – W 3-1 (Lukaku 2, Young)
- V Liverpool (H) – D 0-0
- V Chelsea (A) – W 2-0 (Herrera, Pogba)
- V Paris St Germain (H) – L 0-2
- V Fulham (A) – W 3-0 (Pogba 2, Martial)
- V Leicester (A) – W 1-0 (Rashford)
- V Burnley (H) – D 2-2 (Pogba, Lindelof)
- V Arsenal (A) – W 3-1 (Sanchez, Linhard, Martial)
- V Brighton (H) – W 2-1 (Pogba, Rashford)
Played 10 – Won 7, Drawn 2, Lost 1, Goals Scored 19, Goals Conceded 9
Man Utd – Predicted Team
- Gk – David de Gea
- Dr – Ashley Young
- Dl – Luke Shaw
- Dc – Chris Smalling
- Dc – Victor Lindelof
- Mc – Scott McTominay
- Mc – Paul Pogba
- Mc – Andreas Perreira
- AMr – Diogo Dalot
- AMl – Marcus Rashford
- Ac – Romelu Lukaku
Key Factors for Man Utd
If Anthony Martial is not fully fit, then Diogo Dalot could continue in a more advanced winger role alongside Lukaku and Rashford in attack for United. Pogba will come back into the team after his suspension for the game with PSG in midweek, while McTominay and Pereira will likely hold onto their places ahead of the injured Matic and Herrera. Romelu Lukaku is in good form after netting four goals in his past two games since being recalled to the side.
Arsenal v Man Utd – Tips
Full Time Result – Draw – 5/2
This is going to be a very closely fought game. I think United’s injury worries will be problematic against Arsenal as when they played with Lingard and Rashford, they caused the Arsenal back line all sorts of problems. Rashford and Lukaku are quick but Dalot doesn’t offer the same attacking threat as a converted full back. As such, I can’t see United repeating their FA Cup win of a few weeks ago, but I can see them doing enough to hold the Gunners to a draw.
Correct Score – Arsenal 1-1 Manchester United – 13/2
Having predicted the draw in this game it is simply a question of what the score will be. I think 0-0 is unlikely as both sides have a prodigious amount of attacking talent at their disposal and I can see both teams scoring. The last draw between the teams was 2-2 but I feel that neither side is quite as potent in attack at the moment as they were back then. As such, I feel that a 1-1 scoreline is probably the right selection.
One option is to back the Result/Both Teams to Score bet which you can get Yes and Draw at 10/3 with bet365, if you would like a slightly better odds than what you get on the Full Time Result bet, but don’t want the longer odds Correct Score bet option.
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