Sunday sees Manchester United taking on Arsenal in the Premier League.
The Gunners will still be on a high after their 1-7 demolition of PSV in the Champions League. United were held 1-1 away to Real Sociedad in the Europa League on Thursday evening, and their home record wouldn’t exactly fill you with confidence if you were a fan of the Red Devils.
Andy Robson is back to deliver his verdict, and his four picks here are covered by Paddy’s Super Sub offer, which means that if your man is substituted, the pick carries over to his replacement.
Man United v Arsenal Bet Builder tips
Alejandro Garnacho to have 1+ shots on target
Jurrien Timber to be fouled 1+ times
Gabriel Magalhaes to have 1+ shots
Diogo Dalot to commit 1+ fouls
Arsenal and draw
- A Bet Builder with these bets pays at approximately 5/1 with Paddy Power. CLICK HERE TO ADD IT TO YOUR BETSLIP.
Further Bet Builder stats are available on Andy’s Opta-powered Bet Builder stats tool, which is free to use on his website, Andy’s Bet Club. Expert insight on the Premier League can be found specifically on our Champions League predictions page. The Premier League, EFL, SPFL, and major European leagues can be found in the football betting predictions section.
WHEN: Sunday 9th of March, 4:30pm
WHERE: Old Trafford, Manchester
TV: Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Premier League
Alejandro Garnacho to have 1+ shots on target
Alejandro Garnacho has had 23 shots on target across his 26 Premier League appearances this season (1.40 per game). Currently, Garnacho is the most likely Manchester United player to find the target and the only player in the squad to be averaging over 1.0 shots on target per 90 in the Premier League.
Looking at the other options in the United attack, Zirkzee is steadily improving but has a bit of a different role in the absence of a right winger, which sees him in front of goal less often.
Rasmus Hojlund still looks a way off the pace, he hasn’t scored in 17 games, and is only averaging 0.54 shots on target per 90, which suggests that Garnacho will be the main source of any attacking joy Manchester United gets here.
The Argentine found the target in the FA Cup meeting between these sides in January, in which Manchester United were reduced to 10 men and had to rely solely on a counter-attacking threat. There could be a similar situation replicated here with Arsenal nailed on to control this game. Garnacho is most effective in this role; his speed and timing of runs behind the Arsenal backline should give him a view of the goal here.
Jurrien Timber to be fouled 1+ times
Jurrien Timber is excellent in tight spaces and has been a reliable performer for Arsenal from right back this season. The 23-year-old has won 24 fouls across his 24 Premier League appearances this campaign (1.07 per 90), a record that reflects his ability to get himself out of tight situations. He often uses his strength to hold off the opposition.
Timber was fouled once in the initial league meeting between the sides at the Emirates, and the right back was involved in six duels in total. In Amorim’s 3-4-3 system, he’ll be up against United’s left wingback. This is usually Patrick Dorgu, but with the former Lecce man suspended, Timber will be directly up against Diogo Dalot.
Dalot has committed 36 fouls across his 26 Premier League appearances this season (1.40 per 90). He looks a bit uncomfortable in the left wing-back position, but United don’t have many options to deputise in the absence of Dorgu, leaving Dalot the tough task of managing the left-hand side again. Dalot committed four fouls and was shown a red card in the FA Cup meeting between these sides earlier in the year.
Gabriel Magalhaes to have 1+ shots
Gabriel is a constant threat for Arsenal from set pieces. The centre back has had 22 shots across his 25 Premier League appearances this season (0.91 per 90), with 17 of these attempts coming from corners (77%). Arsenal racked up 13 corners in the initial meeting between these sides at the Emirates, also scoring both their goals in a 2-0 win from corner kicks.
Gabriel didn’t feature in that game but had three shots and scored the equaliser in Arsenal’s FA Cup tie against Manchester United earlier in the year. Set pieces could be key for Arsenal here, with the Gunners still lacking a vocal point in the absence of Kai Havertz.
Arsenal are averaging 5.14 corners per game away from home in the Premier League this season so there should be scope for the Gunners to rack up the corner count again here and find Gabriel from one of these situations as they have been doing all season. Arsenal have scored 19.6% of their goals in the Premier League this campaign from set piece situations.
Diogo Dalot to commit 1+ fouls
Diogo Dalot appears to be one of the Manchester United players that Ruben Amorim trusts the most. He’s featured in pretty much every game since the former Sporting boss took charge. He often has to play out of position to compensate for the lack of suitable profiles in Manchester United’s squad to play Ruben Amorim’s preferred system.
Patrick Dorgu is suspended for this game following his red card against Ipswich a few weeks ago, meaning that Dalot is likely to fill in the left wing back role again. Dalot has committed 36 fouls across his 26 Premier League appearances this season (1.40 per 90).
If he is deployed as a left wing-back here, Dalot will line up against Jurrien Timber and Ethan Nwaneri on his side of the pitch. Nwaneri is averaging 0.68 fouls won per 90 minutes, while Timber is averaging 1.07 fouls won per 90 minutes. Between them, they should be able to draw at least one foul from Dalot, who is set to be playing out of position again.
Arsenal and draw
Arsenal enter this game as favourites, and the Gunners will be confident that they can build on their massive win in the first leg of their Champions League playoff tie.
Arsenal have avoided defeat to Manchester United in both games against the Red Devils this season. United have struggled in both games to match the organisation and quality of the Gunners who have shown their versatility in recent weeks in adapting to the absence of Kai Havertz, Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Jesus with Arteta even going to extreme lengths to try players like Mikel Merino and Riccardo Calafiori up front.
Mikel Arteta’s side won the initial meeting between these sides 2-0 at the Emirates. While neither side frequently creates chances, Arsenal holds the advantage over United in every other area of the pitch. Arsenal’s midfield, in particular, should be able to control this game, which should result in an away win for the Gunners.
Man United v Arsenal betting tips
Alejandro Garnacho to have 1+ shots on target
Jurrien Timber to be fouled 1+ times
Gabriel Magalhaes to have 1+ shots
Diogo Dalot to commit 1+ fouls
Arsenal and draw
- A Bet Builder with these bets pays at approximately 5/1 with Paddy Power. CLICK HERE TO ADD IT TO YOUR BETSLIP.
*All prices are bang up to date with our snazzy widgets, while odds in copy are accurate at time of publishing but subject to change.
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