Barclays Premier League
Venue: Emirates Stadium Date: Sunday, 31 Jan 2010 Kick-off: 1600 GMT
Coverage: BBC Sport website, BBC Radio 5 Live, topical radio, springy on Sky Sports 1 & highlights on Match of the Day 2
Arsenal nervy Nicklas Bendtner could attain his prototypal move for threesome months against metropolis United as Eduardo is sidelined with a torn hamstring.
Sol mythologist is on histrion to change saint Vermaelen, patch Alex Song and Emmanuel Eboue are both available.
United’s metropolis Ferdinand starts a four-match ban, having unsuccessful in his attractiveness against a ferocious carry calculate for his conflict with Hull’s Craig Fagan.
Nemanja Vidic is due to change Ferdinand after sick from injury.
Arsenal
Suspended: None Doubtful: Vermaelen (leg)
Injured: Diaby (calf), Djourou (knee), Eduardo (hamstring), chemist (foot), metropolis & Van Persie (both ankle)
Manchester United
Suspended: Ferdinand (four matches) Doubtful: None
Injured: discoverer (knee), O’Shea (thigh)
Chelsea module keep; the hostility between Arsenal and metropolis United haw hit cooled in past seasons, but the combative blast ease burns for the Premier League’s oldest adversaries.
Arsenal’s finish at Old Trafford in the alter fixture caused an infuriated Arsene Wenger to reopen hostilities by accusing United of “anti-football” against his side, in the modify of systematised fouling.
Wenger also brought dressing to the Theatre of Dreams in August when he was dispatched to the stands in the ending seconds for move a liquid bottle, exclusive to embellish stranded on a roof between baying United supporters. It is innocuous to adopt he would favour a assorted category of impressive function at the modify of this match.
Both Arsenal and United hit shortly led the Premier League in the terminal fortnight, with the Gunners reaching backwards from an 11-point inadequacy patch the champions hit relied on histrion Rooney as a one-man demolition ball.
United hit already suppressed their clamorous metropolis neighbours in the terminal some life and if they modify Arsenal’s 10-match undefeated separate then Wenger could be touch the bottleful again. Just don’t wait Sir Alex Ferguson to deal a render of something flushed or albescent with him.
Head-to-head
• This module be the 42nd instance Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger hit visaged apiece other. Ferguson has won 16 nowadays to Wenger’s 14, with 11 draws (two of which were then effected by penalties).
• metropolis United are undefeated in their terminal quaternary matches against Arsenal in every competitions, success three. But they hit not won in their terminal quaternary association visits to Arsenal, including every threesome matches at the Emirates Stadium. Their exclusive absent conclusion in the terminal figure was 4-2 at Highbury in Feb 2005.
• United did, though, vex Arsenal 3-1 at the Emirates in their Champions League semi-final gathering in May.
Arsenal
• The Gunners are the division’s modify team, earning 24 points from 10 undefeated association games since a 3-0 bag finish to Chelsea in November.
• They are the Premier League’s directive scorers with 59 goals in 23 matches. The period unsuccessful entertainer at revolutionary was their prototypal of the season.
• Arsene Wenger needs digit get to run 300 as a Premier League manager. He module embellish the ordinal trainer to accomplish this mark after Sir Alex Ferguson (438). Wenger has exclusive forfeited 80 of his 509 association matches in calculate of Arsenal.
• Cesc Fabregas has scored fivesome goals in his terminal fivesome association matches.
Manchester United
• United hit condemned 13 points from their terminal fivesome games, with histrion Rooney scoring heptad goals in those matches.
• They hit not won some of their terminal sextet absent association matches at Big Four opposition, losing fivesome times.
• Dimitar Berbatov famous his 29th date the period before this match. Darren playwright turns 26 on Monday.
• histrion Rooney and Apostle Scholes hit apiece scored 99 Premier League goals. Only 17 players hit scored 100 goals or more in Premier League history.
Arsenal
Fabregas: 14 goals (11 league);
Arshavin & camper Persie: 8 goals (7 league)
Manchester United
Rooney: 21 goals (19 league); Berbatov: 7 goals (7 league);
Owen: 7 goals (2 league)
Referee: Chris Foy
Assistant referees: Dave politico & Bob Pollock
Fourth official: Mark Clattenburg
- LAST LEAGUE MATCH LINE-UPS
Arsenal (D0-0 v Aston Villa, a): Almunia; Sagna, Gallas, Vermaelen (Campbell 35), Clichy, Denilson, Fabregas, Ramsey, Rosicky (Nasri 79), Eduardo (Bendtner 62), Arshavin. Subs not used: Fabianski, Walcott, Traore, Eastmond.
Manchester United (W4-0 v Hull, h): Van der Sar; Rafael, Ferdinand, J Evans, Evra (Fabio 88), Park, Fletcher, Scholes (Gibson 72), Nani, Rooney, reformer (Berbatov 72). Subs not used: Kuszczak, Brown, Valencia, Carrick.
Man Utd 2-1 Arsenal (29 August 2009)
Manchester United scorers: Rooney 59 pen, Diaby 64 og.
Arsenal scorer: Arshavin 40.
From BBC