MUFC take on an old rival as they travel to The Emirates to face Mikel Arteta's Gunners in what is the fixture of the Premier League match week.
Both teams are heading into this game on the back of good form with both scoring a lot of goals in their past couplematches of games. Arsenal looking good and feeling good in recent weeks. United looking good and feeling good under Amorim.
We're all set for what should be a firecracker of a game.
Predicted Lineup
We should be expecting rotation both because we have to given suspensions and injuries and simply because with Amorim, we know now that he is a manager who likes to ring the changes.
As mentioned, we do have a couple of suspensions as Martinez and Mainoo picked up yellow cards in the win over Everton ruling them out for this trip.
Many predicted that it would be Shaw that would replace the butcher as the left centre-back but he went and picked up another injury not long after his return. He didn't travel to London.
This means that the only other option is Maguire. With Evans and Lindelof seemingly out and with Malacia just returning from a long layoff himself, only the former captain remains to fill in that spot vacated by Martinez.
No Mainoo means that we should be seeing Ugarte. The Uruguayan came on as a substitute in Sunday's 4-0 triumph so should be fresh for this match. He replaced Casemiro which suggests that the manager had it in mind to play the pair tonight given the fact that he took one off for the other.
The front three sees Rashford keep his place and Hojlund come back in to replace Zirkzee as the number 9. Captain Bruno also had 30 minutes off in the last match as he was substituted for Garnacho. The skipper was seen with an ice pack on his foot but Amorim confirmed that his brother, I mean fellow Portuguese 😅, is available for selection.
Approach
The manager said that he wants his team to be brave. He wants his players to have control over periods of the match. This is not something that we've done in recent years whenever we come up against the top teams and particularly away from home. We always sit back and look to hit on the break.
I do think that we may need to do this a little more than we (and Amorim) would like as Arsenal are (unfortunately) better than us and the fact that we are still learning under our new coach gives us even more of a disadvantage.
But I believe that Amorim will not want to see too much of this negative approach as like he said, he wants the players to be braver. He also said after his Sporting side beat City 4-1 that United cannot play in this defensive style.
He's right. We've seen that approach for too long and it's about time we start to see us play a little more on the front foot, be a little braver.
I know that this is difficult considering the 39-year-old has only been our manager for three games yet even still, I would like to see us try to be a little more controlling. The confidence is also there after the last two games.
Even had Shaw been fit, I wouldn't have been surprised if Amorim went with Maguire anyway. We know that in a back three, he is a lot more comfortable when looking at his performances for England under Gareth Southgate. Maguire seemed to thrive in such a system.
He also brings more height to our defence and team which will come in handy given Arsenal's size and their incredible ability to score from set pieces. This is why I had a feeling that he could go with the England international anyway.
I doubt that we will also see a high line often from United which gives a further reason to have Maguire.
With a feeling that we could be more defensive in this match, I think that Amorim will tell his wing-backs to stay a little deeper and gives us a back five instead of it remaining a back three, as has been in his first three games.
Arsenal will most likely have more of the ball resulting in United having to be more disciplined defensively. This is why Dalot is the player to play at left wing-back over someone like Garnacho as despite his qualities going forward and ability to cause any defence a problem, his defensive duties and overall work rate could be an issue in this game. He would also come up against in form Bukayo Saka. I'd rather have Dalot in that position to mark the Arsenal man even if he is a bit off it at the moment.
The midfield is the area where games are won and lost. The Gunners have a strong midfield of their own with Declan Rice, Mikel Merino, Thomas Partey and Jorginho all top quality midfielders. They are all comfortable and good in possession. Then of course they have their influential captain Martin Odegaard further forward who can cause any defence a problem.
This is why we need to have players in there who are combative and have the ability to not only protect our back line but also win the ball back and snuff out danger. It is a lot more defensive with both Ugarte and Casemiro as the two players are very similar but for a game like this, that is perhaps exactly what's needed.
The pair are also very good at winning possession higher up the field which is where we can cause Arsenal problems. Hojlund is also key to this as whenever we do want to press high, we can do it a lot better with him and Ugarte on the field.
Arsenal like to build up from the back which will give us the urge to press them. Do it well, we may have a chance. Do it poorly and Arsenal will be all over us.
Hojlund's more traditional number 9 style will be key as well because he can help to pin both William Saliba and Gabriel back. With someone like Zirkzee or even Rashford as striker, their habit of wanting to drop deeper to receive the ball will just help in pushing Arsenal's line higher up the pitch which can give them overloads in certain areas, like midfield.
Amorim won't want this.
He could use Mount who is also good at the high press and will definitely work a lot harder than a player like Rashford as work rate will be so important in this game, but as MR10 is a confidence player and is playing with confidence at the moment having scored 3 goals in Amorim's first two league games, and has a good record against Arsenal (he's scored in his last two appearances at The Emirates), I believe the manager will stick with him.
Rashford's pace can also come in handy whenever we do want to play the ball in behind.
It will be interesting to see the manager's approach.
Form
United are actually the second-most in form team in the league. In the last four games, we've won two and drawn two. Only Liverpool have a better record than that.
Thanks to the 4-0 win last time out, MUFC have finally made their way into the top half of the table 🙌. This is probably the highest we've been since opening day when we were on top.
Our two most recent games in all competitions have also seen us score 7 and concede 2. All of Hojlund, Zirkzee and Rashford scored braces in these matches. In fact, the form of all the forwards under the new boss has been really good as Garnacho, Amad and Bruno have been well in on the act as well. All have scored or assisted in Amorim's three games.
Onana's latest clean sheet also pushed him further ahead in the race for the golden glove as he now has 6 which is two more than Arsenal's David Raya.
Our goal difference shot up to +4 thanks to the 4 we scored on the weekend. This means we have a better GD than City's +3 👀. We are also 4 points behind our neighbors who are tied with Brighton on 23 points for that final CL spot.
Things have been looking good in recent weeks 👍.
However, when it comes to the away table, it doesn't bode well for United.
MUFC sit in the unlucky position of 13th as we've only won one of our six games on the road (Southampton 3-0). We've also drawn three and lost the other two giving us a total of just 6 points. The 6 goals scored is also one of the worst as only the bottom three have scored fewer on their travels.
That is an embarrassing record.
We also know that when it comes to facing the big 6 away from home, our record is truly diabolical. Erik ten Hag never won a single game when traveling to The Emirates, Etihad, Anfield, Spurs Stadium or Stamford Bridge during his two-and-a-half years at the club.
The last time United won at one of these grounds was back in the 21/22 campaign when a Cristiano Ronaldo inspired performance gave an under fire Ole Gunnar Solskjaer a 3-0 win at the Spurs Stadium.
Hopefully Amorim can change this on his first attempt 🤞.
Arsenal
Arteta's side have had a turn in fortune in recent weeks after they went through a bit of a bad patch when captain Odegaard was absent.
Since his return though, they appear to be something of themselves again.
They are now the team that is the closest challengers to LFC in the title race (along with Chelsea as the two clubs have an identical record).
The Gunners have 25 points from their 13 matches with seven wins, four draws and two losses. The 26 goals they've scored in only bettered by North London rivals Spurs with 28. However, the 14 Arsenal have let in is one of the better defensive records in the league. This shows that they score freely whilst keeping it relatively tight at the back.
Arteta has recorded back-to-back (heavy) wins over both West Ham (5-2) and Forest (3-0) in the league. Their last two in all competitions have seen them net 10 goals over the Hammers and Sporting Lisbon. Amorim may want to get some revenge for his former team.
The stats show that the most creative player in the league is Saka with 10 assists and like I said, Raya has kept 4 clean sheets. Arsenal are fighting at the top of a lot of lists.
Another list that they are close to the top of is the home table. At The Emirates, Arteta has won four and drawn two of their six matches giving them a total of 14 points from a possible 18. They also have a +9 GD, the second-highest in the league. Only Liverpool and Brentford have a better record.
What this record also means though, is that Arsenal have not lost a game at home. Only Brentford and Brighton can boast such a stat.
With Saka's red hot form and United's weakness down the left flank, that will be an area for Arteta to target as they will look to get the ball to their number 7 as often as possible. This will also help to pin United back as Dalot does like to get forward a lot.
His recent record against the Red Devils is also very good. In his last four games, Saka has 2 goals and an assist.
The Gunners have no real injury concerns for this match with a full squad available.
Recent Meetings
Arsenal are the dominant side in the past few years. They've won all of the last three games including the double over us last season.
United also have a truly terrible record at The Emirates as our last win came back in 17/18, the David de Gea game. Thanks to the 'keeper's heroics, United won 3-1.
It ain't looking good for us in this one brev.
Prediction
However, I've a good feeling at the moment. I'm feeling positive about United and positive about Amorim. I know this will be a tough game but really, it is a free hit for us.
We are the underdogs, our manager has only been in charge for three games, Arsenal are better, are at home and have the better of us in recent years. All the pressure is on them.
But I think we'll get something in this game. I think we'll win. 2-1 Yanited.
Now I ain't smoking or drinking anything (I haven't done either of those in a while) but as I said, I'm feeling really good. Perhaps that's a bit of delusion but hey, if you don't believe, you'll never achieve.
That's just my predicition though 🤷♂️. What do you think is going to happen when Arteta takes on Amorim?
Background Image: Noussair Mazraoui | Image via Manchester United official X (@ManUtd)