After an unexpected 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge against Chelsea, the Red Devils will look to follow it up with a win when they host Arsenal on Thursday. It’s been a real disaster for Manchester United in the EPL the last couple of months. With only one win in their last eight EPL matches it comes as no surprise that they have slipped down to tenth place on the table where they sit with just 18 points. Despite their horrible form, the Red Devils are just five points off of the Top 4 which means that a win against Arsenal followed by positive results in their upcoming fixtures could still see them qualifying for the Champions League next season. Ralf Rangnick has been appointed as the new full-time manager for the club and he will look to spark something at Old Trafford in his first game in charge and will look to be the catalyst in a massive turnaround for the Red Devils. It’s certainly not too late for Manchester United’s season to be saved, but they can’t afford to waste much more time and they should start off with making sure that they secure points when playing at home. Prior to their draw with Chelsea last week Manchester United lost 4-1 away to Watford, lost 2-0 at home to Manchester City, won 3-0 away to Tottenham and lost 5-0 at home to Liverpool. The Red Devils have only picked up five points in their last eight games in the league – their fewest ever across eight matches in any season since playing in the EPL.
The Gunners recovered well on Saturday after being thrashed by Liverpool with a 2-0 win at home to Newcastle. They are now sitting in fifth place on the table with 23 points and just one point away from the Top 4. Arsenal have now only lost one match in their last 10 EPL matches and if they continue the way they are they are looking very likely to book themselves a spot in Europe next season. They might not be scoring a lot of goals this season, but thanks to a very tight defense they have been able to secure a number of clean sheets and pick up three points in almost all of their recent clashes. One might argue that they have had a pretty easy schedule the last three months, but some of their recent results do include victories against top teams like Leicester and Spurs. Furthermore, all their victories have certainly helped them build up a whole lot of momentum and now that they are getting ready to face some more big names it will only count in their favour. Thursday will be a big test for Arteta’s men against a Manchester United team with a new manager that seem to be on the cusp of a recovery. Counting in their favour is the fact that Manchester United are struggling to find the net in the EPL right now. If they can keep their defense tight like they have been doing as of late then they will certainly make things difficult for the Red Devils in their own backyard.
Things haven’t gone well for Manchester United in the last five EPL clashes between the two sides. Arsenal have won three of the last five clashes, with the remaining two ending in a draw. The last time these two teams met in the EPL was in January at the Emirates where they played to a goalless draw. The last clash between these two teams at Old Trafford was just over a year ago which saw Aubameyang help Arsenal to a 1-0 win. Prior to that Manchester United had a very solid record against Arsenal at Old Trafford in the EPL with the Gunners only picking up one win in the 14 years before that.
Prediction
I still believe Manchester United have got a long way to go and it might just take them a game or two before they start getting results with their new manager. Things seem to have taken a step in the right direction since Solskjaer’s departure and their draw away to Chelsea was a very good result against the top team in the league, but they will still have their work cut out for them against this Arsenal team. Manchester United are still struggling to find the net consistently and the Gunners’ defense is superb right now if you disregard their match against Liverpool. The Gunners are also guilty of not scoring enough goals and for that reason I am expecting a very tight game between these two teams. If you look at the history between the two sides you will also see that the matches generally end as a low-scoring game and as a draw or with a team winning with a very narrow margin. I have been having some success with taking teams on the double chance and I will have another crack at this and back Arsenal on the double chance. I also like under 2.5 goals because I can see this match ending 0-0 or 1-1, and for goalscorers I quite like Aubameyang to score in the match since he has scored in his last two EPL trips to Old Trafford.
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