Arsenal vs Man Utd Preview: Team News & Prediction | 2024-25 English FA Cup | Third Round
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Two of the so-called ‘big six’ in England will be exiting at the third round stage of this season’s FA Cup as Arsenal face rivals Manchester United at the Emirates Stadium this weekend.
Kick-off date/time: Sunday 12th January, 2025: UK – 3:00pm / US ET – 10:00am / US PT – 7:00am
How to watch on TV: UK – BBC / US – ESPN+
How to watch online: UK – BBC iPlayer / US – ESPN+
Arsenal Preview: Issues at the Emirates
Mikel Arteta has been heavily criticised for becoming overly conservative in charge of Arsenal over the last couple of seasons and the Gunners come into this one on the back of a potentially seminal moment of the Mikel Arteta era with a loss to Newcastle United.
In the first-leg of their EFL Cup semi-final, the north Londoners backed up a frustrating 1-1 draw at Brighton and Hove Albion at the AMEX Stadium last weekend suffered a 2-0 loss at home to Newcastle due to goals from Alexander Isak and Anthony Gordon.
Man Utd Preview: Looking to build
Following the appointment of Ruben Amorim over the November international break, Manchester United have managed just four victories in their 12 matches across all competitions but they did enjoy a much-improved performance last weekend.
The Red Devils, after beating city rivals Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium last month, went to arch-rivals Liverpool last week and shared a 2-2 draw at Anfield in a game in which they led and were arguably the better of the two sides against the league leaders.
Arsenal Team News: Sterling returned in midweek
Raheem Sterling returned to the squad in midweek and with potential rotation, he may well get a rare start this weekend. They do have some key injuries persisting including Ben White and Bukayo Saka, whilst Ethan Nwaneri now also remains unavailable.
Predicted XI (4-3-3): Neto; Timber, Saliba, Kiwior, Calafiori; Merino, Jorginho, Rice; Trossard, Jesus, Sterling
Unavailable: Tomiyasu (Injured), White (Injured), Saka (Injured), Nwaneri (Injured)
Questionable:
Man Utd Team News: The Rashford situation
Wantaway forward Marcus Rashford had recently returned to the United squad but he now looks set to once again be unavailable due to illness. United are dealing with injuries to Victor Lindelof, Luke Shaw and Mason Mount as well.
Predicted XI (3-4-2-1): Bayindir; Yoro, Maguire, Martinez; Dalot, Ugarte, Mainoo, Malacia; Diallo, Fernandes; Zirkzee
Unavailable: Lindelof (Injured), Shaw (Injured), Mount (Injured)
Questionable: Rashford (Illness)
Arsenal vs Man Utd Prediction
There is a possibility that the pressure really does grow on Mikel Arteta amid fears of stagnation if the Gunners suffer a loss to Manchester United. They defeated them by two goals to nil last month but that perhaps showed what their limitations were with an immense over-reliance on set-pieces. United may well be suited to being a bit more reactive and, if they have learned from that aerial bombardment last month, it could well be good value to side with Amorim’s men here.
Arsenal vs Man Utd Tip: Double chance – Man Utd to win or draw
