Venue : Old Trafford
Predicted Formation, I think Rafael should start (look how good was his performance against Arsenal during the last game, video provided below)
Training squad (24 players): Van der Sar, Foster, Kuszczak; Evra, Ferdinand, Vidic, Rafael, O'Shea, Evans, Brown; Ronaldo, Park, Giggs, Nani, Anderson, Scholes, Fletcher, Gibson, Carrick; Rooney, Tevez, Berbatov, Welbeck, Macheda. (Source : Manutd.com)
Injury list
Manchester United : Gary Neville, Owen Hargreaves
Arsenal : Robin van Persie, Gael Clichy, Mikel Silvestre(could be fit to play) William Gallas, Tomas Rosicky, Andrei Arshavin(Cup-tied, not injured)
Statistics:
Head to head against Arsenal: Won 82, Drawn 45 , Lost 77.
Manchester United in the Champions League this season : Won 4 Drawn 6 Lost 0
Arsenal in the Champions League this season : Won 5 Drawn 3 Lost 2
My point of view is, if United lose this first leg at Old Trafford, they'll be out of the competition. Arsenal will go all out as the champions league will be their only chance to win silverware this season, it will be a tough game. Manchester United must also avoid Arsenal to score an away goal in order to be on the driving seat during the return leg. Lets just hope that Manchester United perform another stunning performance like what they did against Tottenham. United can take the advantage as Andrei Arshavin is cup-tied. Arsenal's dangerous players will be Cesc Fabregas, Theo Walcott and Emannuel Adebayor. Ferdinand must not make some unwanted mistakes again. Road to Rome !
The update: Emmannuel Adebayor says that their side will hold more possession to make United players frustrated. "As soon as you keep the ball from Manchester United, they have a problem. Every single time you play against them, they want to take control of the game - if they are in possession more, then you are dead" says Adebayor. This confirms that Arsenal will starve Manchester United of possession.
Prediction : 2-0 win to United
Referee: Claus Bo Larsen (Denmark). The Dane last took charge of the Reds in the 2-1 victory over Sporting Lisbon in last season's group stages. (Source : Manutd.com)
Ferguson vs Wenger, head to head : http://espnstar.com/football/champions-league/news/detail/item255299/Ferguson-vs-Wenger---Head-to-Head/Previous result against Arsenal this season:
1. Arsenal 2-1 Manchester United (Barclays Premier League)
Everyone expects Man United to win this one as Arsenal had a lot of key players missing for this fixture but a double from Samir Nasri condemned United to a second defeat of the season at the Emirates Stadium. Manchester United did not give up and continue to attack Arsenal with full force but was unlucky for not finding the back of the net. However, Rafael Da Silva rifled a consolation goal pass the Arsenal goalkeeper Fabianski in injury time, but it was too little, too late despite six minutes of injury time added. Manchester United played well but they were unable to forge another opening and were left to rue a glut of spurned first half opportunities. (Source : manutd.com)
Previous results against Arsenal last season:
1. Manchester United 2-1 Arsenal (Barclays Premier League)
Adebayor “handed” the ball pass Edwin van der Sar after the restart at Old Trafford but it was United who gets the last laugh at the end of the day. William Gallas conceded a penalty as he was caught hand-ball inside the penalty box and Cristiano Ronaldo scored the penalty to draw level with Arsenal. Minutes later, Owen Hargreaves scored the winning goal from a stunning free kick. It was his second goal for United and Arsenal was ruled out of the title race.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yn9rhJUpYZw&feature=related (Arsenal's goals)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vfRlniXdQ0I(Rafael Da Silva's performance and goals)
2. Manchester United 4-0 Arsenal (FA Cup)
Sir Alex Ferguson left some experienced players on the bench , fielding some youngsters for this match. However, the youngsters did a brilliant job by trashing Arsenal at Old Trafford. Goals from Wayne Rooney, Darren Fletcher and Luis Nani during the first half (3-0) confirmed the victory to send United to the next round of the FA Cup. During the second half, Eboue was sent off by the referee after tackling Patrice Evra which left Evra in pain. Darren Fletcher then scored the fourth goal pass Arsenal Goalkeeper Jens Lehmann to give United a healthy lead.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5XaRvBbF_c&feature=related (Match highlights)
3. Arsenal 2-2 Manchester United (Barclays Premier League)
William Gallas’s late late equalizer rescued a point for Arsenal. Wayne Rooney scored the opener for United at the Emirates Stadium before half time but was canceled out by Fabregas after the restart. Cristiano Ronaldo took the lead again in the 80th minute and it looked that United will get their first win at the Emirates before William Gallas scored the equalizer.
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