Preview: Red Devils to ruin the party in London?
Arsenal are seven points clear of Man City ahead and are huge odds favourites against Man Utd at 1.58. The London club’s main title rival Man City host Wolves on Saturday, with the Manchester club expected to win, and Arsenal will want to make sure they don’t lose any ground this weekend. Let’s take a closer look at Sunday’s big game in London!
Arsenal – Man Utd
Emirates Stadium, Sunday @ 17:30 CET
Arsenal
It has been about 5 months since these two teams faced each other in Manchester in the opening weekend of the season, when Calafiori’s goal in the 13th minute was enough to secure 3 points for Arsenal. Despite losing on their opening day, Man Utd were showing promising signs in that match, then went on to draw against Fulham and lose to Grimsby in the League Cup. Whereas that seemed quite fitting for a Man Utd side that have struggled to find consistency this season, Arsenal’s win was maybe a sign of things to come for them as well. Despite not always dominating their fixtures, they still often manage to get away with the win in the end, and they’ve now racked up 15 wins from their first 22 matches in the league, whilst also winning all of their 7 matches so far in the CL League Phase.
In other words, it’s been an impressive season for Arsenal, and every win now brings them closer and closer to a long-awaited league title. The last time Arsenal lifted the league trophy was back in 2003/2004.
Arsenal are currently at 1.18 to win the league, with their closest competitors being Man City (5.40) and Aston Villa (40.00).
Arsenal are hoping to grab a big win here leading up to their final CL match at home to Kairat, where they could secure an impressive 8th win in 8 matches in the League Phase. They have already secured top spot and automatic qualification to the next round. The Gunners are at 4.50 to win the CL this season, meaning they’re not only favourites to win the league, but also the biggest tournament in Europe.
Getting back to this weekend’s fixture, Arteta looks like he’ll have to do without Calafiori and Hincapie (injuries), but he’ll have been happy to have seen Gabriel Jesus back in goalscoring form this week. Considering Arsenal area already qualified to the next stage in Europe, they’ll have no reason to rest any players for this match, and they’ll be hungry for another win against Man Utd this season, making it a nice double for them against one of their main rivals from back in the 90s and early 00s.
Arsenal to win the 1st half is at 2.10, with Trossard and Gyökeres both at 6.00 to score the first goal of the match.
Man Utd
Man Utd recently hired former club midfielder Michael Carrick as an interim head coach until the end of the season, and the Englishman couldn’t have gotten a better start to the season. A 2-0 win against their city rivals not only boosted their own chances at a top 4 spot, but it also hampered their rivals’ title chances, which certainly must have felt like a big bonus for the Man Utd faithful.
Mbeumo and Dorgu scored the goals for Man Utd in the Manchester derby, and the Red Devils could certainly have scored more goals, but a few super saves from Donnarumma kept the score at a somewhat respectable level. Man City’s midweek loss in Europe does raise a few questions over how big a win this actually was for Man Utd, however. Carrick’s team certainly dazzled with their football last weekend, but Guardiola’s side are not at their best at the moment, and it shows.
Man Utd are currently at 3.45 to finish in the top 4 this season, and 1.70 to be in the top 6, and a win this weekend would be massively helpful for a team that has struggled with consistency this season (and the last 10+ years).
Zirkzee and de Ligt are still out for Man Utd, who are expected to start with the same line-up as they did against Man City.
Man Utd to win the 1st half is at 5.40, with Mbeumo at 6.50 and Fernandes at 11.00 to score the first goal of the match.
Arsenal are edging closer and closer to a famous league title, but with Man City expected to beat Wolves on Saturday, some nervousness might creep in here and our prediction is a draw at 4.20. Don’t forget that we also have Early Payout on this match, which you can read more about here.
Last Updated: 23.01.2026
Odds might have changed since the writing and/or publication of this article.
