The Premier League has always been an exceptionally competitive division, and that’s never been more accurate than it is this season. There are teams battling it out at both ends of the table, and it seems as if that’s going to continue to be the case between now and May. One of the most intriguing battles of all comes in the form of the race for the top four, which features some of the most notable teams in European football. Some are in better positions than others, but given the fixtures schedule they all have to deal with, we’d say they’re all in with a pretty good chance of achieving their goal.

Two teams who are neck and neck at this moment in time are Arsenal and Manchester United, who will be squaring off at the Emirates on Sunday. These two teams are in 4th (United, 58 points) and 5th (Arsenal, 57 points) respectively, with Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea sandwiching them together. A few years ago it would’ve seemed ridiculous for teams such as these to be putting so much emphasis on simply qualifying for the Champions League, but that showcases just how good Manchester City and Liverpool have been throughout the current campaign.

Arsenal have had a rollercoaster ride of a season thus far, with Unai Emery getting a full taste of what it’s like to compete in the top tier of the English game. The majority of fans seem to be pretty happy with him being the man in charge, although there have certainly been warning signs along the way. For example, their Europa League campaign looks like it could be in tatters, which means that their only remaining form of entry into the Champions League next season would be finishing in fourth or above – and that’s no easy task.

Manchester United, on the other hand, are riding higher than they have in years. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has done what very few fans thought was possible: bring back Fergie’s United. The spirit of the team is there for everyone to see, and even non-Manchester United supporters have to appreciate what he’s been able to accomplish. They’re in the last eight of the Champions League, they’re in pole position to finish fourth (or potentially even higher), and they’re considered to be one of the favourites to win the FA Cup. Everything is looking up at Old Trafford, but even with that being the case, they can’t afford to get complacent.

Arsenal’s last six games have been classic Arsenal: inconsistent. They went to Belarus and suffered an embarrassing 1-0 defeat in the Europa League, although that seemed to open their eyes to just how tough some of the teams in that competition can be. They wound up winning the second leg 3-0 in a pretty convincing performance, and they used that to fuel them in the Premier League. They won back to back games against Southampton and Bournemouth at home, before being unlucky to only take a point away from the North London derby against Spurs. Then, you could argue that they reversed all of their hard work against BATE with a disappointing 3-1 loss at the hands of Rennes.

United, on the other hand, just seem to be going from strength to strength. They lost the first leg of their tie against Paris Saint-Germain 2-0, before they were able to convincingly dispatch of Chelsea 2-0. They drew 0-0 with bitter rivals Liverpool in what was considered to be a pretty good result, which was followed by another nice win over Crystal Palace. A narrow 3-2 triumph over Southampton gave many fans flashbacks of the Sir Alex era, and then in their last game, they did the unthinkable by beating PSG 3-1 to progress into the quarter finals of the Champions League.

The first meeting between these two clubs took place way back in 1894, when it was contested between Newton Heath and Woolwich Arsenal as they were formerly known. Over the years they’ve tussled back and forth for control, but as it stands, United lead the overall head to head standings 99-82 with 48 draws – meaning they have the chance to register their 100th win over the Gunners this weekend. They’ve already played twice this season within the span of just a few weeks, as they drew 2-2 in the Premier League before United ran out 3-1 winners in the FA Cup.

Despite being sent off in the game against Rennes, Sokratis is available to play here courtesy of it being a different competition. Lucas Torreira’s straight red card against Spurs means that he’ll begin a spell on the sidelines through suspension, although Lacazette is expected to return to the starting XI with Aubameyang being tipped for the bench. In the wake of Mustafi’s recent performances, it also seems like Ainsley Maitland-Niles is going to be given the chance to prove himself once again against United.

Paul Pogba was suspended for the game against Paris Saint-Germain, but will return to the team for this vital game. Fred and Scott McTominay are expected to start after their performances during the week, with Dalot and Pereira being set to battle it out for a place in the team. Above the team selection, though, it seems like more people are choosing to focus on what kind of formation Solskjaer is going to play, because when you’re going to a place like the Emirates it goes without saying that you need to ensure your setup is absolutely perfect. If it isn’t, you could be taken apart at will.

Arsenal vs Manchester United Betting Prediction

The home form of Arsenal is what has kept them going up to this point, and we think it’s going to help them massively against United. The fans are going to be up for this one, and hopefully, so are the players. We can see them taking the lead against OGS’ men pretty early on, and some would probably say too early. Then, in a complete replica of what happened in the first leg against Rennes, they’ll start to sit back on their lead as opposed to going after what would be a vital second goal.

That’ll allow the Red Devils to slowly work their way back into the encounter, eventually grabbing an equaliser just before the half hour mark. They’ll go on to take a stranglehold in the second half, eventually picking up the three points. We know that it seems a little bit ‘out there’ to suggest United will be able to come from behind and beat the Gunners at the Emirates, but as you can probably tell by their team selection against PSG, Solskjaer knows that this is one of the most important games of the season so far.

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