Manchester United vs Arsenal 20/10/19

20 October 2019

Severely weakened by the injuries of David de Gea and Paul Pogba, Manchester United will try to make the most of the upcoming heavyweight Premier League (PL) clash with Liverpool at Old Trafford.

Just two wins in eight rounds of the PL fixtures (D3, L3) have put Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s job in jeopardy, and Liverpool can make sure to push him over the edge. Therefore, the Norwegian has to find a way to weaponize his team’s passing game after seeing United score one goal or less in seven straight PL games since a 4-0 home win over Chelsea in the curtain-raiser. The Red Devils have been dominating the possession in six of their last seven PL matches, except for the one against Leicester that saw them secure a 1-0 triumph. Another burning issue Solskjaer has to handle is plugging a leaky defense that has failed to keep a clean sheet six times this season, although allowing over 1.5 goals only twice. One consolation for the home side is that they’ve won three of their last five PL H2Hs with Liverpool at Old Trafford (D2), restricting the Reds to a maximum of one goal per match on each of those occasions.

The visitors are, meanwhile, in the midst of a purple patch, having picked up eight triumphs from eight PL games this term. Additionally, four straight wins on the road at the beginning of the 2019/20 season means that the Merseyside giants have now racked up an eight-game winning PL away run. Curiously, the current league toppers have netted eight of 20 PL goals scored away from home (40%), although bagging 2+ match goals in three of four PL trips. Also, three of Liverpool’s PL away wins have seen them beat their rivals by a narrow one-goal margin, while three witnessed them lead at the halftime break too. Virgil van Dijk and Co. boast the best defensive record in England’s top-flight (6), with just two of those goals conceded coming away from Anfield.