Manchester United continue their seemingly never-ending run-in on Sunday when they travel to north London to take on old adversaries Arsenal. And once more, they head into a Premier League fixture less than 72 hours after European duty.
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Thursday's 1-0 victory away to Celta Vigo leaves them with one foot in the Europa League final, but it also changes the paradigm within their campaign a little further too. Jose Mourinho has warned that he will make wholesale changes for the trip to the Emirates in order for his first-choice line-up to be able to focus on closing out the Celta tie at Old Trafford next Thursday.
One thing that is for certain is the reduced importance of this particular Arsenal-Manchester United clash. With the Gunners down in sixth spot and Mourinho having all-but conceded a top-four finish, this is likely to be one of the least feisty affairs the two clubs have produced in Premier League history.
MAN UTD INJURIES
The extent of Mourinho's alterations will be conditioned by a number of high-profile injuries. Marcos Rojo and Zlatan Ibrahimovic both suffered season-ending knee ligament damage in April's Europa League win over Anderlecht, while Luke Shaw's campaign was brought to an early close by a foot injury against Swansea last Sunday.
Elsewhere, Marcus Rashford had a slight limp as he trudged off against Celta in midweek and could be rested having played 762 minutes of football since the beginning of April, second only to Eric Bailly among United players.
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Ashley Young's fitness could also be a concerned after he was forced off late on in Vigo just 10 minutes after coming on as a substitute.
MAN UTD SUSPENSIONS
Marouane Fellaini misses the second of three domestic matches after being banned for his headbutt on Manchester City's Sergio Aguero, and he will also be absent when United return to north London to play Tottenham next week. Neither side have any players close to facing a ban on accumulation of yellow cards since a player would need to have accrued 15 bookings this season to be suspended.
MAN UTD POTENTIAL STARTING LINE-UP
Mourinho will make plenty of changes, but within reason. It is unlikely that the Portuguese will throw in a raft of youngsters but there will be returns for the likes of David de Gea, Wayne Rooney, Juan Mata, Chris Smalling, Phil Jones and Anthony Martial.
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Eric Bailly is sure to be rested having started 12 straight games since the middle of March, while Marcus Rashford and Jesse Lingard have both put in big minutes of late. Paul Pogba could be pushed into playing back-to-back games for want of other midfield options, while Axel Tuanzebe, Scott McTominay and Matty Willock could all be in contention for places on the bench.
ARSENAL TEAM NEWS
The under-performing Gunners lie in sixth spot with five games remaining but do at least have an FA Cup final date with Chelsea to look forward to. The truth is, though, that this has been an unacceptable campaign in the eyes of many Arsenal fans, and the poisonous atmosphere their results have created has been the overwhelming narrative this season.
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Arsene Wenger's future is a hot topic, but he will look to bag a first competitive win - outside of the Community Shield - against Jose Mourinho on Sunday. He'll likely send out a back three of Rob Holding, Hector Bellerin and Laurent Koscielny, with Granit Xhaka facing a late fitness test to see if he'll start in midfield alongside Mohamed Elneny.
Former United striker Danny Welbeck will lead the line in front of Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez.
BEST OPTA MATCH FACTS
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Arsenal’s 3-0 victory over Manchester United at the Emirates last season is their only win in 11 Premier League games against them (D4 L6).
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Wayne Rooney has scored more Premier League goals against Arsenal than any other player in Premier League history (11).
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Alexis Sanchez needs just one goal to register his best-ever return from a single campaign in Europe’s big five leagues (currently on 19, tied with 2013/14 for Barcelona).
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This will be Arsene Wenger’s 58 th match as Arsenal manager against Manchester United in all competitions. It’s the side the Frenchman has faced most often with the Gunners, but also the side he’s got the lowest win rate against (29% - minimum of 15 games).
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Wenger’s only previous win as Arsenal manager against Jose Mourinho came in the 2015 Community Shield – he’s never previously beaten him in the Premier League before (W0 D7 L5).
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Manchester United have won their last two Premier League games in the capital – they last won three in a row in London in November 2014, with the third win in that run coming at the Emirates.
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Manchester United are now unbeaten in 25 successive Premier League matches (W13 D12) – a club record within a single top-flight season. Only seven teams have gone longer unbeaten in a single top-flight campaign, with Nottingham Forest’s 26-game unbeaten run in 1977-78 their next target.
TV COVERAGE & KICK-OFF TIME
The game at the Emirates kicks off at 16:00 UK time, with live television coverage on Sky Sports 1 in the UK from 15:30.
