Arsenal welcome Manchester United to the Emirates Stadium for Sunday’s FA Cup third round clash between the competition’s two most successful teams.
Record winners of 14 times Arsenal they last won the FA Cup during Mikel Arteta’s first season in charge but have struggled to progress in the competition since then. They did not reach the fifth round in any of the previous four campaigns.
United, meanwhile, won their 13th FA Cup against the odds last season by beating overpowered neighbors Manchester City in the final. However, that success only delayed the sacking of Erik ten Hag and ensured that their 2024/25 campaign started badly.
Successor Ruben Amorim was 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 big improvement last weekend during their 2-2 draw with Liverpool, just as talk of potential relegation began to surface.
Arsenal go into this cup game after losing their first game Carabao Cup semi-final against Newcastle 2-0.
Here 90 minutes guide for sunday FA Cup tie in the third round.
Arsenal vs Man Utd H2H results (last five matches)
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 – 01.04.25 |
Man Utd 0-2 Newcastle – 30.12.24 |
|
Brentford 1-3 Arsenal – 1.1.25 |
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 |
|
Earth |
TV channel/live broadcast |
|---|---|
|
Great Britain |
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 was strong in midweek and will certainly get some rotation with the North London Derby coming up.
We should see summer arrivals Riccardo Calafiori and Mikel Merino come into the XI after failing to get on against Newcastle. Jakub Kiwior should also get the nod to offer Gabriel some respite.
Neto is in line for his first start for the club since joining on loan, while Raheem Sterling is back in contention after recovering from a knee injury.
Bukayo Saka, Ethan Nwaneri, Takehiro Tomiyasu and Ben White are all out with injuries.
Predicted line-up of Arsenal vs Man Utd (4-3-3): Net; Timber, Saliba, Kiwior, Calafiori; Jorginho, Merino, Odegaard; Sterling, Jesus, Martinelli.
United will benefit from spending all week on the training pitch with Amorim, and the manager almost has a fully prepared squad to choose from on Sunday.
Marcus Rashford has been dumped and is looking for a way out this summer. He will not play as he started at the Emirates in December.
United are also without Mason Mount, Luke Shaw and Victor Lindelof through injury.
There shouldn’t be many changes to 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 candidates to return to Amorim’s XI.
Man Utd predicted line-up against Arsenal (3-4-2-1): Onana; Yoro, Maguire, Martinez; Amad, Ugarte, Mainoo, Dalot; Fernandes, Garnacho; Zirkzee.
Both managers will be delighted that replays have been scrapped as this one could go a long way.
Arsenal are struggling through life without Bukaya Saka and will once again look to sustained pressure and set pieces as their primary means of success against the Red Devils. United, however, should offer much more than in north London at the start of December.
Amorim’s work on the training pitch proved instrumental in their improvement last weekend, and the week off will see another go at this cup. We shouldn’t expect excitement and spills, but a chess match between the two managers – which could lead to a penalty shootout.
Prediction: Arsenal 1-1 Man Utd (Man Utd win on penalties)
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