Zlatan Ibrahimovic Manchester UnitedOli Scarff

Man Utd Team News: Injuries, suspensions and line-up vs Arsenal

A couple of goals for Ashley Young, another strike for Anthony Martial and a wonderful solo effort to settle it by Jesse Lingard... it is fair to say that it was a good night's work for Manchester United at Watford on Tuesday. But Saturday brings a test of a very different type for Jose Mourinho's side as they travel to Arsenal.

Manchester City's last-gasp win over Southampton on Wednesday means United head to the Emirates still eight points adrift of their city rivals, but taking three points from their long-term Premier League adversaries would provide a huge boost just eight days before City visit Old Trafford.

United have three successive league wins under their belts going to north London, and now is not the time to let the intensity drop, otherwise their title challenge could quickly be over.

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MAN UTD INJURIES


Eric Bailly and Phil Jones missed United's trip to Watford in midweek, but the Ivorian at least should be back in contention for the trip to Arsenal and there is significant hope that Jones could also return.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic has now made four substitute appearances since returning from an ACL injury and ought to be in line for a first start, but Marouane Fellaini is a doubt after missing the 4-2 win in Hertfordshire due to a knee injury.

Nemanja Matic limped out of the midweek victory shortly after half-time but it is hoped that he asked to leave the field as a precautionary measure and that he will be fit again in time for Saturday.

Michael Carrick has stepped up his training in recent weeks following a procedure to deal with an irregular heart rhythm but is not expected to return to play for the time being at least.

Nemanja Matic Manchester United

MAN UTD SUSPENSIONS


Neither team are missing any players through suspension, nor do they have anyone sitting on the verge of a ban ahead of Saturday's clash.


MAN UTD POTENTIAL STARTING LINE-UP


Jose Mourinho will stick with the three-man defensive shape with which he has taken on every similarly structured team United have come up against since the spring of 2017. Ashley Young's display as a more attacking wing-back at Watford was one of the huge advantages of playing with such a system, and the Portuguese will send his troops out with a similar approach at Arsenal on Saturday.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic looks set to make his first start since injury, having been held back until the dying embers of the midweek victory, presumably in order to keep him fresh for the clash with Arsenal. That could either mean a change of role for Romelu Lukaku on the right-hand side or a first appearance off the bench for Belgian, who has now netted just once in his last 11 games in all competitions.

Zlatan 11/10 to score anytime

Ander Herrera is standing by should Nemanja Matic not recover in time, but with Marouane Fellaini a significant doubt there are few other options available to Mourinho in the heart of midfield. Anthony Martial should get the nod once again after turning in an excellent performance in attack on Tuesday, meaning Marcus Rashford will either start from the right of attack or come off the bench if Romelu Lukaku is favoured.

In defence, there could be a couple of changes afoot if both Eric Bailly and Phil Jones are back to full fitness, with Mourinho now having plenty of alternatives to choose from at the heart of the back line.

Man Utd possible XI

ARSENAL TEAM NEWS


Arsene Wenger's men are arguably in their best vein of form all season thanks to a third straight win in midweek against Huddersfield Town and a run of five victories in six league games, with only Manchester City taking anything off them since the loss at Watford in mid-October.

The 5-0 win on Wednesday was by far their biggest victory thus far, and the performance of Mesut Ozil - he was involved in three goals in a four-minute period during the second half - was a timely reminder of why there has been a significant interest in the German credited to United in recent times. The ongoing saga regarding the expiring contracts of Ozil and Alexis Sanchez has undermined the Gunners' season at times but they have at least seemed to get over those issues in recent weeks.

Alexandre Lacazette's participation or otherwise will be a hot topic going into the game, as he has been overlooked by Wenger for key clashes against Liverpool and Manchester City but was used as a starter in other top-six tussles against Tottenham and Chelsea. While Arsenal went on to lose the trips to Anfield and the Etihad, they were 2-0 winners when Lacazette started against Spurs and also took a point from Stamford Bridge.

Mesut Ozil Arsenal

BEST OPTA MATCH FACTS


  • Arsenal have lost just one of their last five Premier League home games against Manchester United (W2 D2), winning each of the last two without conceding a goal.

  • The Gunners have not won three successive home league games against Manchester United since May 1991.

  • Arsenal have now won their last 12 home league games in a row, last enjoying a longer run between February and November 2005 at Highbury (13).

  • Manchester United won at Watford in the midweek fixture, but haven’t secured back-to-back away wins in the Premier League since a run of four in April.

  • Jose Mourinho hasn’t won any of his last 11 away league games against ‘big six’ opposition, since a 2-1 win at Liverpool in November 2014 (D5 L6), with his sides scoring just one goal in the last 10 such games.

  • This will be the 18th meeting between Arsene Wenger and Jose Mourinho, with the Portuguese manager losing just two of these (W8 D7 L2). However, those two losses have come over the last four meetings (W1 D1 L2).

  • Mesut Ozil has been directly involved in four goals in his last four Premier League appearances against Manchester United (two goals, two assists).

  • Olivier Giroud has scored 16 goals as a substitute in the Premier League, the fourth highest tally in the competition (Jermain Defoe 23, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Kanu 17).


TV COVERAGE & KICK-OFF TIME


The match at Emirates Stadium kicks off at 17:30GMT on Saturday, with live coverage in the UK on BT Sport 1 beginning at 17:00.

Watch Arsenal vs Man Utd in the US live and On-Demand with fuboTV (7-day free trial)

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