Do the young Gunners crash Carrick’s home debut?

It’s been fixed since the beginning of the week! Ralf Rangnick will be the new coach of Manchester United, succeeding Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and interim coach Michael Carrick, who will presumably be in charge for the last time on Thursday evening. Rangnick still lacks a work permit, so ex-professional Carrick may yet make his home debut as interim head coach.

The first two games under the guidance of the former assistant were quite successful from the point of view of the “Red Devils”, after all, the entry into the Champions League round of 16 was fixed and a point was taken at the reigning leader. On Thursday, the bookmakers believe that CR7 and Co. have a realistic chance of success. Between Manchester United and Arsenal, odds of around 2.00 are being offered on a home win.

The task will not be a foregone conclusion, however, especially as United have not won any of their last four home games in the Premier League and have not been able to beat the capital club in six direct encounters in the English top flight. With this in mind, it should be carefully considered whether a prediction on a home win between Manchester United and Arsenal will yield a decent value or whether the tendency is more towards an away coup.

Manchester United – Statistics & current form

18 points after 13 matchdays are a disappointing result for Manchester United in the highest English league. They have only managed to win five games this season. They are already twelve points behind leaders Chelsea. It was therefore all the more surprising that the league leaders managed a 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge at the weekend.

Admittedly, this was also an extremely fortunate result. Just like in the Champions League match against Villarreal a week or so ago, United had keeper De Gea to thank time and again. Football-wise, the record champions were not at all convincing, in both games they were only the reacting team for long stretches. That is one of the reasons why we do not agree one hundred percent with the low odds on a home win between Manchester United and Arsenal.

United without a home win in the league for almost two months

Despite the satisfactory results in the two competitive matches following Solksjaer’s dismissal, it is important to remember that Man Utd have taken just five points from their last eight Premier League games, have not won at home since 11 September and have failed to win any of their last six meetings with their upcoming opponents in the English top flight.

This is compounded by the home woes already alluded to. 0-2 against Manchester City, 0-5 against Liverpool, 1-1 against Everton and 0-1 against Aston Villa – these are the Red Devils’ most recent results at Old Trafford, which put them in 15th place in the home table. Most recently, they have conceded eight home goals in a row without even having scored one of their own. Nine consecutive goals conceded would be a new negative record in the club’s long history.

Based on the statistics listed and the fact that Varane, Pogba, Cavani and Shaw are still missing, we would advise against betting on the hosts in the eagerly awaited clash between Manchester United and Arsenal. On the positive side, Harry Maguire is back after serving his ban. In addition, Michael Carrick will not dare to put his superstar Cristiano Ronaldo on the bench for a second time in a row. Why should he? The Portuguese has scored six goals against Arsenal in his career, but only one at Old Trafford – more than 14 years ago, in April 2008.

Predicted Manchester United line-up:
De Gea; Wan-Bissaka, Maguire, Lindelof, Telles; Matic, Fred, McTominay; Fernandes; Sancho, Ronaldo

Last matches played by Manchester United:

Premier League
11/28 2021 – Chelsea London 1 – 1 Manchester United

Champions League Grp. F
11/23 2021 – Villarreal FC 0 – 2 Manchester United

Premier League
11/20 2021 – Watford 4 – 1 Manchester United

11/06 2021 – Manchester United 0 – 2 Manchester City

Champions League Grp. F
11/02 2021 – Atalanta Bergamo 2 – 2 Manchester United

Arsenal – Statistics & current form

Efficiency is still an extremely important and sometimes rare quality in top flight football. Just ask Arsenal Football Club. Although the Gunners scored only 15 goals in the first 13 matchdays and conceded as many as 17, they are currently in fifth place with 23 points, even though the start of the season went down the drain with three defeats in the first three games.

In the ten league games that followed, however, the team of the much-maligned coach Mikel Arteta celebrated seven victories, drew twice and conceded only one further defeat, a 4-0 loss at Liverpool. The Londoners have been one of the most consistent teams in recent weeks, which makes them an uncomfortable opponent.

Unconcerned Gunners aim to keep United at bay

Fairness aside, it has to be said that the young Arsenal team is far more successful at home than away from home. Only promoted Norwich City scored fewer goals away from home (two) than the Gunners (three), who went completely without a goal in four of the six matches they played. However, because the defence is usually solid and the capital club has kept its clean sheet in the last three direct encounters against United alone, we are not averse to making a prediction on the double X2 chance in the run-up to the Manchester United v Arsenal match.

On the one hand, the Gunners could celebrate two successive away wins at Old Trafford for the first time since 1979. On the other hand, the pressure is clearly on the shoulders of the hosts, who are desperate to keep up. This situation is likely to play into the hands of the Londoners, who play forward without a care in the world and are particularly strong in the transition game.

And apart from all the U21 youngsters like Smith-Rowe (4 goals), Saka 2 or Martinelli 1, who can take credit for almost half of the goals scored by Arteta’s team, there is also a certain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who scored in his last two away games in the “Theatre of Dreams” and could now become the first Arsenal player to achieve this feat in three consecutive guest appearances at the record champions. Kolasinac and Xhaka are out injured, while Saka is still a question mark.

Predicted Arsenal line-up:
Ramsdale; Tomiyasu, White, Gabriel, Tavares; Partey, Lokonga; Martinelli, Odegaard, Smith Rowe; Aubameyang

Last matches played by Arsenal:

Premier League
11/27 2021 – Arsenal London 2 – 0 Newcastle United

11/20 2021 – Liverpool FC 4 – 0 Arsenal London

11/07 2021 – Arsenal London 1 – 0 Watford

10/30 2021 – Leicester 0 – 2 Arsenal London

Carabao Cup
10/26 2021 – Arsenal London 2 – 0 Leeds

Manchester United – Arsenal Tip

Normally on Thursdays we have to make do with the Europa or Conference League. Not so next Thursday, when it comes to the prestigious top match between Manchester United and Arsenal in the Premier League. According to the betting odds, the home side are favourites, although they have won just one of their last eight PL matches and picked up just five points in the same period.

The visitors from the capital, meanwhile, are in pretty good form. Seven wins in their last ten matches are promising and the main reason why Arteta’s team has climbed up to fifth place. The Gunners have already put five points between themselves and United, although the Londoners have only scored three goals away from home and have failed to score in four of their last six away games.

In our eyes, it is still advisable to place a bet on double chance X2 between Manchester United and Arsenal. We trust the carefree and young Arteta team to win at least one point and also argue that the Gunners are unbeaten in six direct duels with the Red Devils – recently even three times in a row without conceding a goal.