Manchester United V Arsenal Preview

Manchester United v Arsenal

Saturday 16 May 2009,

Old Trafford

Kickoff: 12:45

Manchester United

Manchester United defeated Wigan Athletic 2-1 at JJB Stadium in their last league outing, Man Utd's seventh straight league win.

The victory against Wigan means that Manchester United need only one point from their remaining two matches to clinch the Premier League for the third year running, with second placed Liverpool trailing by six points.

Man Utd will be without Rio Ferdinand for this match, whilst Owen Hargreaves is still out.

Arsenal

Arsenal lost 4-1 to Chelsea at the Emirates Stadium in their last league match, ending a run of 21 straight league matches without a defeat.

In their last five, Arsenal have won three, drawn one and lost one, collecting 10 points from the 15 on offer. Arsenal have secured fourth place in the league, trailing third placed Chelsea by nine points and leading fifth placed Aston Villa by 10.

Arsenal will be without goalkeeper Manuel Almunia, whilst Andrey Arshavin is set to return after recovering from a virus. The Gunners are also missing Eduardo, Gael Clichy, William Gallas and Tomas Rosicky for the remaining two matches of the season.

Prediction

The two sides have met three times so far this season, with Arsenal beating Manchester United 2-1 at the Emirates Stadium on the 8th November, 2008 in a Premier League fixture.

However, the latest two matches—both of which took place within the last month for the Champions League—saw Man Utd run away 1-0 victors at Old Trafford and 3-1 winners at the Emirates. Last season's Man Utd vs Arsenal league match also ended in a Red Devils victory, with 2-1 the scoreline.

After putting on an incredible run of twenty-one league matches undefeated (including 12 wins), Arsenal have suffered three demoralising defeats in recent weeks against both Man Utd and Chelsea, which has left the side in something of a shambles.

Following the losses, manager Arsene Wenger has vowed to strengthen his side in the summer transfer window, with the need for experienced players in an otherwise young squad now apparent.

Manchester United, on the other hand, are now cruising towards yet another Premiership title (and possibly their second straight Champions League crown), following a string of convincing performances.

New speculation has arisen regarding Cristiano Ronaldo's future at the club, however the main talking point is whether Carlos Tevez will remain with the Red Devils after the end of the season, as the Argentine's loan is set to expire in the summer and there has been no new contract put forward to the 25-year-old striker as of yet.

Arsenal have nothing but pride left to play for in the season whilst Man Utd will be keen to clinch the title in front of their home crowd, needing only a draw to do so.

But the ambitious United side will be looking to take all three points from this meeting, and with Arsenal's form floundering and their confidence shaken, what would normally be a very closely contested match looks set to be a relatively comfortable Man Utd win.

And so we may be set to witness Manchester United claim their third straight league title and equal Liverpool's historical record of 18 title wins overall, as they enter this fixture as confident favourites for victory.

Read the complete preview with the best on-line betting odds at the Manchester United vs Arsenal odds and preview page now!

Then read our other football previews including Newcastle vs Fulham, Everton vs West Ham, and Tottenham vs Man City for Saturday's matches. Plus West Brom vs Liverpool and Chelsea vs Blackburn on Sunday.