The last time Manchester United visited Arsenal, the road team came in and beat the hosts 3-1, ousting them from the competition in the fourth round. Unai Emery’s men will look to better protect their home turf on Sunday, in a rematch that once again carries major significance.
This contest is not about the race for the FA Cup trophy, but it’s about something perhaps ultimately much bigger- securing a top four position. United are currently one point ahead of Arsenal in the race to procure the last UEFA Champions League qualification position.
The two sides have flipped position in the table twice these past couple weeks, and Gunners boss Unai Emery will be hoping to make it happen again this weekend.
This is especially important given how Arsenal’s other route back into the UCL, winning the Europa League tournament, was dealt a major blow last night with a 3-1 loss at Rennes in the first leg of their round of 16 tie.
The Bank Arsenal FC Predicted line-up (4-3-3) vs Manchester United
Attack: Alexandre Lacazette, Alex Iwobi, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
Midfield: Matteo Guendouzi, Granit Xhaka, Sead Kolasinac
Back line: Laurent Koscielny, Stephan Lichtsteiner, Sokratis, Ainsley Maitland-Niles
Goalkeeper: Bernd Leno
Manchester United at Arsenal FC FYIs
Kickoff: Sunday, March 10, 5:30pm local, Emirates Stadium
Injury Report for Both Sides: go to this link
Starting XI Predictions: Arsenal Manchester United
Google Result Probability: Arsenal win 40%, Draw 27%, Manchester United win 33%
Odds via Odds Checker: Arsenal win 16/11, Draw 13/5, Manchester United win 21/10
Prediction: Manchester United 3, Arsenal 2
We believe Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will get it done here, just like we believe he should get the managerial job beyond this season. We doubted him before the PSG match, and don’t want to make the same mistake again. Solskjaer, Victor Lindelof, and company believed they could make UCL history and pull off the upset in Paris, and they did.
The Norwegian really has something special going on with this team.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, regularly appears as a guest pundit on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
He also contributes sociopolitical essays to Chicago Now. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram. The content of his cat’s Instagram account is unquestionably superior to his.