Arsenal welcome Manchester United to the Emirates Stadium for Sunday's FA Cup third round clash between two of the competition's most successful outfits.
Record 14 times winner Arsenal last won the FA Cup during Mikel Arteta's first season in charge but have since struggled to progress in the competition. They have not reached the fifth round in any of the previous four campaigns.
United, meanwhile, won their 13th FA Cup against the odds last season by beating superior neighbors Manchester City in the final. However, that success merely delayed Erik ten Hag's sacking and ensured their 2024/25 campaign got off to a miserable start.
Successor Ruben Amorim has quickly appreciated the size of the job at hand and United go into Sunday's game five games without a win. However, there were signs of major improvement last weekend during the 2-2 draw with Liverpool, just as talk of potential relegation began to emerge.
Arsenal go into this cup match having lost their first game Carabao Cup semi-final against Newcastle 2-0.
Here it is 90 minutes guide for sunday FA Cup third round tie.
Arsenal vs Man Utd H2H results (last five matches)
Current form (all competitions)
|
Arsenal |
Man Utd |
|---|---|
|
Arsenal 0-2 Newcastle – 07/01/25 |
Liverpool 2-2 Man Utd – 05/01/25 |
|
Brighton 1-1 Arsenal – 04/01/25 |
Man Utd 0-2 Newcastle – 30/12/24 |
|
Brentford 1-3 Arsenal – 01/01/25 |
Wolves 2-0 Man Utd – 26/12/24 |
|
Arsenal 1-0 Ipswich – 27/12/24 |
Man Utd 0-3 Bournemouth – 22/12/24 |
|
Crystal Palace 1-5 Arsenal – 21/12/24 |
Tottenham 4-3 Man Utd – 19/12/24 |
|
country |
TV channel/live streaming |
|---|---|
|
United Kingdom |
BBC iPlayer, BBC One |
|
United States |
ESPN+, the ESPN app |
|
Canada |
Sportsnet World Now, Sportsnet Now, Sportsnet East, Sportsnet Ontario, Sportsnet Pacific, Sportsnet West, Sportsnet World, Sportsnet Now Plus |
Arteta went strong in midweek and will have some rotation with the North London Derby coming up.
We should see summer arrivals Riccardo Calafiori and Mikel Merino come into the 11 after failing to feature against Newcastle. Jakub Kiwior should also get the nod to offer Gabriel some time.
Neto is in line to make his first start for the club following his loan move, while Raheem Sterling is back in contention after recovering from a knee injury.
Bukayo Saka, Ethan Nwaneri, Takehiro Tomiyasu and Ben White are all injured.
Arsenal predicted formation against Man Utd (4-3-3): Nephew; Timber, Saliba, Kiwior, Calafiori; Jorginho, Merino, Odegaard; Sterling, Jesus, Martinelli.
United will benefit from spending a full week on the training ground with Amorim, and the manager almost has a fully fit squad to choose from on Sunday.
Marcus Rashford has been sidelined and is looking for a way out this summer. He will not play after starting at the Emirates in December.
United are also without Mason Mount, Luke Shaw and Victor Lindelof through injury.
There shouldn't be too many changes from the team that performed so impressively at Anfield last weekend, given the week off the Red Devils have enjoyed. Leny Yoro and Alejandro Garnacho are the strongest contenders to return to Amorim's XI.
Man Utd predicted formation against Arsenal (3-4-2-1): Onana; Yoro, Maguire, Martinez; Amad, Ugarte, Mainoo, Dalot; Fernandes, Garnacho; Circus.
Both coaches will be thrilled that replays have been canceled because this one could go the distance.
Arsenal are struggling for life without Bukayo Saka and they will once again look to sustained pressure and set pieces as their main avenues of success against the Red Devils. United, however, must offer much more than they did in north London at the start of December.
Amorim's work on the training pitch was key to their improvement last weekend, and having the week off will see their fresh start in this cup tie. We should not expect emotions and spills, but rather a chess match between two coaches – a match that could lead to a penalty shootout.