Manchester United versus Arsenal, Saturday, November 19
Arsenal missed their previous chance of leading the Premier League at home to Tottenham a fortnight ago, but have another shot at doing so, at least for a few hours, at Old Trafford on Saturday. The Gunners lost to Liverpool by the odd goal in a seven-goal thriller at the Emirates Stadium on the opening weekend of the season, but are unbeaten since and have scored 12 goals in five away games, while conceding just three. The Red Devils have been beaten just once in five Premier League home games this season, going down 1-2 in the Manchester Derby, but manager Jose Mourinho has exhibited distinct signs of uneasiness in recent weeks.
The ‘Special One’ was charged with misconduct and fined £50,000 over comments he made about referee Anthony Taylor prior to the game against Liverpool at Anfield and was sent to the Old Trafford stands by Mark Clattenberg during the 0-0 with Burnley after an altercation in or around the tunnel area at half-time. He served a touchline ban against Swansea and was fined a further £8,000 for the latter offence. More recently, he has expressed his dismay at the culture he has inherited at Old Trafford,
Gunners boss Arsene Wenger has urged Chile not to risk striker Alexis Sanchez, who picked up a low grade muscle injury on international duty, in their World Cup qualifier against Uruguay on Tuesday but, with or without the 27-year-old, Arsenal are probably playing United at just the right time. Recent form suggests that the respective defences will have the upper hand, though, so let’s try a 1-1 draw at 6/1 with William Hill.
Selection: 1-1 Draw (6/1 with William Hill)