After securing his first win as interim manager, Michael Carrick will be aiming to go one step further and stop the leaders, Arsenal. The Manchester derby saw United beat City 2-0 at Old Trafford, with goals from Bryan Mbeumo and Patrick Dorgu.
Arsenal will be looking to back up their 3-1 away win in the Champions League against Inter Milan with a win against the Red Devils, especially given they have drawn their last 2 league games in a row for the first time since the 2012-13 season.
In terms of the league table, Arsenal currently sit at the summit, with the opportunity to go up to 10 points clear if both Manchester City and Aston Villa fall to defeat. Mikel Arteta will be desperate to widen the gap as much as possible.
On the other hand, Manchester United have picked up form in their last 5 games, leaving them 5th and 1 point outside of the Champions League spots. Carrick’s ultimate aim is to achieve European football by the end of the season, so stabilising the ship will be key in their bid for that.
The history of this fixture is endless, with them having faced each other an astounding 244 times. However, in recent years, Arsenal have dominated the fixture, having been unbeaten in their last six league meetings with Manchester United. United have also not beaten Arsenal in the league since September 2022, which was thanks to goals from Antony and Marcus Rashford.
Another pivotal aspect of the game is Arsenal’s home form. They have superb defensive control and can feed the ball out to Saka to deliver his magic. This may be a tough test for Arsenal’s defensive line though, given the way that United carved open Manchester City to create goalscoring opportunities.
Arteta is expected to line up in the usual 4-3-3 formation, with some players possibly making a return. He is assessing the fitness of Riccardo Calafiori and Piero Hincapie, having been without them since the turn of the year.
Carrick will still be without Dutch Defender Matthijs de Ligt, and will be for a few more weeks with the back injury he picked up in November. The Red Devils will want to back up the performance last Saturday and play with the attacking freedom that they did in that 4-2-3-1 formation they used. They often utilised their pace down the flanks to counter-attack, so Arsenal’s full backs will need to be on alert.
The game kicks off at 4:30pm on Sunday at the Emirates Stadium and is live on Sky Sports to watch.
PHOTO CREDIT: Arsenal FC
WRITTEN BY: Jessica Britchford
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