The Premier League returns from international break, and what a way to start it off with a match full of passion as Manchester United take on Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium for a vital three points.
Entering the 12th week of the season, Arsenal leads Manchester United by one point as they sit sixth on the table with a record of 4-5-2 and 17 points, while United sit seventh with a record of 4-4-3.
This will be the first time that Louis Van Gaal and Arsene Wenger will face each other in the Premier League. Both managers are struggling at the moment to make an impact on the table and prove themselves as title contenders, but both have a clear goal of making the top four that go into the Champions League.
International matches sometimes mean that players get injured on duty, but United are seeing a larger injured list instead of always unlucky, Arsenal. Angel Di Maria was struck hard during international duty against Portugal, but sources claim that his injury is minor. Daley Blind hurt his knee against Latvia and David De Gea hurt his finger during training. All three are starters. Their full injured list looks like this:
Luke Shaw/ Thigh / Expected to Play
Daley Blind / Knee / Out
Angel Di Maria / Ankle / Expected to Play
David De Gea / Finger / Questionable
Michael Carrick / Groin / Questionable
Marcos Rojo / Shoulder / Out
Rafael Da Silva / Muscle Injury / Expected to Play
Ashley Young / Groin / Out
Phil Jones / Calf / Out
Radamel Falcao / Calf / Expected to Play
Johnny Evans / Ankle / Questionable
Jesse Lingard / Knee / Out
All of these players are good enough to make a difference on the pitch and their omission may be a factor in Saturday’s Results. Van Gaal will have to think long and hard about the formation that will start the match if his side are to come out on top.
I would not be surprised with a line up that looks like:
Lindegaard
Rafael, Smalling, McNair, Shaw
Carrick
Januzaj, Fellani, Rooney, DiMaria
Van Persie
Yet, there is some light that sheds on this darkness. Wayne Rooney has been on a hot streak as he bagged 3 goals for England and Robin Van Persie is expected to take on his former club once again. These two up top will need to create chances for each other as they will be the driving force of attack for United.
Arsenal’s squad looks to be in better shape as no one was hurt in duty during this International break, but they are still hurting from past breaks. Their current injured list contains:
Danny Welbeck / Hamstring / Questionable
Laurent Koscielny / Calf / Out
David Ospina / Hip / Out
Mesut Ozil / Knee / Out
Mathieu Debucjy / Ankle / Out
Should Welbeck be declared fit for the match, this will be his first match against his former club since being transferred over. He and Alexis Sanchez will be frightening to a United Defense that is missing starters and that has been suffering since last season. Nacho Monreal has taken Koscielny’s place on the squad and Cazorla has taken Ozil’s.
Overall, Arsenal’s squad seems much more fit and has more diverse players than does United. Alexis Sanchez has been fantastic up-top as he has scored five of the last seven goals in the past three games in the Premier League.
But Arsenal’s weaknesses lay in the midfield of Aaron Ramsey and Matheiu Flamini. It should be a good match-up between these two and Marouane Fellani, Michael Carrick and Wayne Rooney. This part of the field is most likely see the game won and lost.
Featured Photo Credit: Kaurent Gillerona/ AP
Comments are closed.