Arsenal have the opportunity to extend their unbeaten run to 20 games in all competitions when they make the trip north to face Manchester United at Old Trafford.
Unai Emery’s side are presently occupying the fourth position ahead of Tottenham Hotspur on goal difference after they beat their north London counterparts by a 4-2 scoreline last weekend.
Formation: 3-4-1-2
Predicted Lineup:
Bernd Leno was guilty of conceding Spurs’ opening goal during the recent derby triumph but barring that, his performance did not present any flaws. He should continue between the sticks.
In defence, Emery may fancy sticking with the three-man backline which has worked impressively since the international break.
In this case, Shkodran Mustafi, Sokratis Papastathopoulos and Rob Holding should reclaim their central defensive positions with Hector Bellerin and Sead Kolasinac featuring ahead of them in the right and left wing-back positions respectively.
Onto the midfield, Granit Xhaka is expected to miss the crunch midweek game after picking up his fifth yellow card of the Premier League season in the derby, which will see him serve a one-match domestic suspension.
In his absence, Mateo Guendouzi is pretty much an automatic pick for the central midfield duties and he should be partnered by Lucas Torreira, who capped a stellar performance against Spurs with his maiden goal for the Gunners.
Further forward, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Alex Iwobi may drop to the bench for this encounter after witnessing Aaron Ramsey and Alexandre Lacazette produce match-defining performances against Spurs after replacing them at the break.
Ramsey appears a strong candidate to take up the number 10 role while Lacazette should partner Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang upfront after the duo combined splendidly during the second half of the comeback triumph over Spurs.
