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After booking a place in the FA Cup by beating Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 on Saturday, Manchester United host Arsenal in the Premier League at the weekend.
This particular fixture seems to be the most anticipated and the most awaited fixtures among both the sets of fans and CrownBet Online Odds suggest a home victory. Although Manchester City have become the champions of England this season, there is a lot to play for Manchester United as they bid to finish the best of the rest, while Arsenal’s interest would lie in winning the Europa League.
Successive wins—Bournemouth in the Premier League and Tottenham in the FA Cup—have given United the momentum they need to finish the season on a high. Mourinho’s men are second in the table, three points ahead of third-placed Liverpool, who have played a game more.
The Red Devils recently struggled against basement club West Brom where they failed to control the game. But the resilience they showed against Spurs last weekend was commendable and Mourinho will be hoping something similar against the Gunners.
Following his heroics against Spurs, Alexis Sanchez could face his former club on Sunday. The Chilean has not enjoyed a rollicking start to life at Old Trafford since signing for Arsenal in January. However, a stellar display at the Wembley would provide him a lot of confidence ahead of the mouthwatering clash.
With almost a fully-fit squad, Mourinho is expected to name a strong line-up against the Gunners.
Shifting the focus towards Arsenal, Arsene Wenger announced last week that he will be stepping down as their manager at the end of the season. The 68-year-old, one of the most prominent and successful managers in world football, has so far won 10 trophies with Arsenal, including three Premier League titles.
Wenger knows the importance of the game against United but his focus will be to sign off by winning the Europa League this season. Arsenal have no chance to make it to the top-four and the Europa League remains their only hope of securing silverware this season.
Before the game against United, the north Londoners host Atletico Madrid in the semi-finals of the Europa League on Thursday. Wenger will go all guns blazing to take a first-leg advantage before setting up his team well at Old Trafford.
After a disappointing defeat at Newcastle last weekend, Arsenal bounced back with an emphatic 4-1 win against West Ham at the Emirates. It was the perfect tonic Wenger’s men needed ahead of the games against Atletico Madrid and Manchester United this week.
Prediction
With one eye on the second-leg of the Europa League semi-finals next week, Wenger will not name a strong side. His main aim will be to somehow eke a point at Old Trafford as the Frenchman prefers winning the Europa League.
Mourinho, on the other hand won’t hold his cards back and go all out for a win to strengthen his team’s position in the table.
I see this game ending up in the favour of the hosts, with the score-line 2-1 Manchester United.
