Premier League Matchweek 14 Preview And Prediction
Facing one of the biggest threats to their unbeaten start under Ruben Amorim, Manchester United stop over at the Emirates for a Premier League spectacle with Arsenal on Wednesday night.
Both English titans won emphatically in gameweek 13, as the Gunners crushed West Ham United 5-2 before the Red Devils put four past Everton without reply at Old Trafford.
As much as international breaks can be a bugbear for football fans, Arsenal has transformed since the November hiatus and will now play a landmark match at their Emirates home, which is set to host its 500th competitive club game on Wednesday evening.
Alongside Brentford and Brighton & Hove Albion, Arsenal is one of just three teams in the division with an unbeaten home record still intact. Six of their last seven battles at the Emirates—where they are also on a 12-game scoring sequence in all competitions—have ended in victory.
Indeed, both Marcus Rashford and Joshua Zirkzee scored braces in Sunday's 4-0 triumph over relegation-threatened Everton. This result marked Man United's fourth home success on the spin in all tournaments after Amorim's Old Trafford debut versus Bodo/Glimt in the Europa League ended 3-2 in favour of the Red Devils.
A praiseworthy tally of eight points from their last four Premier League games has propelled Man United out of the bottom half of the Premier League table and into the ninth spot, only four points adrift of Brighton & Hove Albion in the final Champions League position, but the less said about their road exploits the better.
The 1-1 draw versus Ipswich Town in Amorim's inaugural game stretched Man United's winless run on their travels in all competitions to six matches - five of which have ended all square - and Southampton are the only side that the Red Devils have conquered away from their Old Trafford home so far this term.
The more recent head-to-head history makes for unpleasant reading for the Man Utd faithful too, as they have lost each of their last three Premier League games against Arsenal and have not prevailed at the Emirates since January 2019, a 3-1 FA Cup win where Alexis Sanchez struck against his old employers.
PREDICTION: Arsenal 2 - 0 Man Utd
As potent as Man United have been at their Old Trafford base under Ruud van Nistelrooy and Amorim, their powers often elude them on the road, a bad omen before a visit to Arsenal's Emirates fortress.
Having also lost the effervescent Mainoo, the defensive cornerstone Martinez and potentially the influential Fernandes, Man United should suffer their first setback of the Amorim era against an Arsenal side who have rediscovered their attacking form.
Manchester City vs Nottingham Forest: HOME WIN @1.39
Newcastle United vs Liverpool: AWAY WIN OR DRAW @1.25
Southampton vs Chelsea: AWAY WIN @1.40
Bournemouth vs Tottenham Hotspur: OVER 2.5 @1.35
Fulham vs Brighton & Hove Albion: OVER 2 @1.25
