Arsenal vs Manchester United Prediction | Opta Analyst
We look ahead to Wednesday’s Premier League game at the Emirates Stadium with our Arsenal vs Manchester United prediction and preview. Ruben Amorim will look to build on his solid start to life at Old Trafford with a statement win.
Arsenal will bid to maintain their upturn in form when they welcome Manchester United and their new boss Ruben Amorim to the Emirates Stadium in the Premier League on Wednesday.
Mikel Arteta’s side have followed up a winless four-game run in all competitions with a three-match streak of victories to leave them second in the Premier League.
Despite their improved form, though, the nine-point gap to Liverpool at the summit means Arsenal have little room for error if they want to get back in the title race.
Arteta has won six of his nine Premier League games against Manchester United (one draw, two defeats), with his first ever victory as manager coming against them (2-0 in January 2020). Of all managers to face United at least five times in the competition, Arteta has the highest win rate (67%).
However, Arsenal have won just two of their 17 evening kick-offs (7pm or later) against United in the Premier League (nine draws, six defeats), though one of those was in their most recent such home game in 2020.
That could provide some encouragement for Amorim, who has overseen a draw and two victories in his first three games in charge of United since arriving from Sporting CP to replace Erik ten Hag.
A thumping 4-0 win over Everton at the weekend lifted United into the top half, and they head into Wednesday’s game on a seven-match unbeaten run in all competitions.
We could be in for goals, with United’s last seven midweek (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday) Premier League outings producing 38 in total. They’ve won six of those games, scoring 23 goals and conceding 15.
United haven’t had much luck in the capital recently, winning just two of their last 18 Premier League away games against London sides, with both of those victories coming against Fulham.
Bukayo Saka will look to condemn United to another poor result in London, and the winger should be confident considering his impressive form both this season and against Wednesday’s opponents.
Saka has already both scored and assisted a goal in four different Premier League games this season. On only four occasions has an Arsenal player done so more in a single campaign – Thierry Henry (7 in 2002-03, six in 2004-05), Robin van Persie (7 in 2011-12) and Lukas Podolski (5 in 2012-13).
Additionally, Saka has had a hand in five Premier League goals against United (3 goals, 2 assists). Only Henry (12 – 8 goals, 4 assists) has been involved in more against United for the Gunners.
In terms of team news, Arsenal will remain without Ben White and Takehiro Tomiyasu, though Mikel Merino and Thomas Partey could return after missing the 5-2 win at West Ham on Saturday. Gabriel went off at half-time in that game and is a doubt for Wednesday.
Amorim, meanwhile, will be without the suspended Lisandro Martínez and Kobbie Mainoo, both of whom picked up their fifth yellow cards of the season against Everton. Martínez’s absence is especially problematic with Victor Lindelof out injured, while Jonny Evans’ chances of being fit to play on Wednesday look slim. However, Amorim did suggest that summer signing Leny Yoro could be available after suffering an injury in pre-season.
Arsenal vs Manchester United Head-to-HeadArsenal have won their last three Premier League games against Man Utd – they’ve never won four in a row against the Red Devils in their league history.
United, meanwhile, have lost seven of their last nine Premier League away games against Arsenal and are winless in six visits to the Emirates (one draw, five defeats).
This fixture ended in dramatic fashion last season when Declan Rice put Arsenal ahead in the 96th minute, with Gabriel Jesus making sure of the 3-1 win in the 101st minute.
The last meeting between the sides was back in May, when a 20th-minute strike from Leandro Trossard was enough for Arsenal to earn a 1-0 win at Old Trafford.
Arsenal vs Manchester United PredictionThe Opta supercomputer is backing Arsenal to make it four wins on the trot on Wednesday, taking the three points in 62.0% of the 10,000 pre-match simulations.
An away victory over Arsenal would be a statement win early on in Amorim’s tenure, and his side pull it off 17.8% of the time. A draw would be another blow to Arsenal’s title hopes, and that occurs in 20.2% of simulations.
Those title hopes already look ambitious, with Arsenal overturning the gap to Liverpool to finish first in just 11.2% of simulations, with second their most likely finish.
For Amorim, meanwhile, his United team are predicted to end the campaign in ninth, with only a 7.0% chance of finishing in the Europa League spots.
Arsenal vs Manchester United Predicted Lineups Opta Power RankingsThe Opta Power Rankings are a global team ranking system. They assign an ability score to over 13,000 domestic football teams. This score is on a scale between zero and 100, where zero is the worst-ranked team in the world and 100 is the best team in the world.
Ahead of kick-off on Wednesday, here is the Opta Power Ranking for both sides.
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