Arsenal welcome Manchester United to the Emirates Stadium for Sunday’s FA Cup third round clash between two of the competition’s most successful sides.
Record 14 winners arsenal last lifted the FA Cup during Mikel Arteta’s first season in charge but have struggled to progress in the competition since then. 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 defeating their superior neighbors Manchester City in the final. That success, however, only delayed Erik ten Hag’s sacking and ensured their 2024/25 campaign got off to a miserable start.
Successor Ruben Amorim has been quick to assess the size of the job at hand, and United go into Sunday’s game five games without a win. However, there were signs of a big improvement last weekend during their 2-2 draw at Liverpool, just as narratives of possible relegation were starting to emerge.
Arsenal go into this cup tie having lost the first leg Carabao Cup semi-final against Newcastle 2-0.
here it is 90 minutes sunday guide FA Cup third round tie.
Arsenal vs Man Utd head-to-head results (last five games)
Current form (all competitions)
|
arsenal |
Man Utd |
|---|---|
|
Arsenal 0-2 Newcastle – 01/07/25 |
Liverpool 2-2 Man Utd – 01/05/25 |
|
Brighton 1-1 Arsenal – 25/01/04 |
Man Utd 0-2 Newcastle – 30/12/24 |
|
Brentford 1-3 Arsenal – 01/25/01 |
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 broadcast |
|---|---|
|
united kingdom |
BBC iPlayer, BBC One |
|
united states |
ESPN+, ESPN app |
|
canada |
Sportsnet World Now, Sportsnet Now, Sportsnet East, Sportsnet Ontario, Sportsnet Pacific, Sportsnet West, Sportsnet World, Sportsnet Now Plus |
Arteta was strong in midweek, and there will surely be some rotation with the north London derby.
We should see summer arrivals Riccardo Calafiori and Mikel Merino enter the eleven without being able to play against Newcastle. Jakub Kiwior should also get a nod to give Gabriel some breathing room.
Neto is in line to make his first start for the club following his loan arrival, while Raheem Sterling returns to contention after recovering from a knee injury.
Bukayo Saka, Ethan Nwaneri, Takehiro Tomiyasu and Ben White are injured.
Predicted Arsenal vs Man Utd line-up (4-3-3): grandson; Timber, Saliba, Kiwior, Calafiori; Jorginho, Merino, Odegaard; Sterling, Jesus, Martinelli.
United will benefit from a full week at 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 an exit route 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 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 best candidates to return to the XI of Amorim.
Man Utd predicted line-up against Arsenal (3-4-2-1): Onana; Yoro, Maguire, Martinez; Amad, Ugarte, Mainoo, Dalot; Fernandes, Grenache; circus
Both managers will be delighted that replays have been ruled out as this one could go far.
Arsenal are struggling for life without Bukayo Saka, and will once again look to sustained pressure and set-pieces as the main avenues of success against the Red Devils. United, however, should offer much more than they did in north London at the start of December.
Amorim’s work in the training camp was key to their improvement last weekend, and having the week off will see them on their new path to this cup tie. We should not expect emotions and spills, but a chess match between the two coaches, which could lead to a penalty shootout.
