United vs Arsenal FA Cup Preview

Introduction

Manchester United are back in action this weekend with the small matter of an FA Cup Quarter Final against their closest league rivals Arsenal. Following back to back away defeats, the Reds will need to get back to winning ways to restore confidence that the season is not about to implode. In addition a victory will also deal a serious blow to the already damaged confidence of their opponents who only a few weeks ago were dreaming of a historic quadruple. Defeats by Barcelona and Birmingham, coupled with a disappointing league draw with Sunderland mean that the Gunners potential trophy haul has been halved with serious questions being asked about their mental stability and bottle. 

The parallels between the two sides are uncanny. Defeat for either and a full scale crisis will be apparent with the possibility of a trophyless season looming large. Whoever gets the vital victory will have renewed confidence and will expect to finish the season successfully.

For this reason, it would be expected that both teams will play strong teams. The only caveat to this is the upcoming Champions League 2nd leg for United against Marseille. The manager will know the effect that a morale boosting win can have for the team as three defeats in a row would be a disaster.

The Opposition

Arsenal go into the game with their own troubles as discussed above. Failure to have a shot at the Nou Camp against a weakened defence is worrying but they will take heart that even with this in mind, they would have progressed if Bendtner had been able to control a late cross from Wilshere. Another similarity to United is the length of their injury list at such a crucial time of the season.

Fabregas, Song, Walcott along with their two first choice goalkeepers will all be missing from the Gunners line up. Wenger will shuffle his pack and include the likes of Diaby, Arshavin, Rosicky and maybe Bendtner. One piece of good news on the injury front is the fitness of Van Persie who seems to have come through the match on Tuesday with no ill effects. Whether his state of mind has improved is another matter following his two yellow cards!

Arsenal have been given a comfortable draw in the FA Cup so far with all of their opponents coming from below Championship level. However, they have made heavy weather of the favourable draw, needing replays to get past Leeds and Leyton Orient and a late goal to progress past Huddersfield.

The Gunners have the best away record in the league this season with just two defeats. Their recent away form shows 2 wins and 2 draws from the last five.

Perhaps the most interesting stat regarding Arsenal is that in all competitions this season they are yet to concede a goal in the first fifteen minutes and only two in the first 25. They have however a tendency to relax towards the end of the game with twelve goals going in during the last ten minutes.

Tactics
All things considered I would expect Sir Alex to go for a 4-5-1 formation against Arsenal. It is a tried and trusted one versus the Gunners that has brought success over the last few years and also will ensure midfield stability sadly lacking against Liverpool last time out.


Another thing for sure tomorrow is that the game will largely be played in the centre due to the lack of wingers on show. Injuries to Park, Nani and Valencia will probably mean that Giggs is the only genuine wide man on show for the Reds and with the opposition tending to use players out wide who like to roam, whoever gains advantage in this area will surely prevail.


For this reason, both sets of full backs will have an important role to play from an attacking point of view. They will look to get forward as much as possible to supplement their forward players and the pair that spend the most amount of time in their opponent's half will have a big influence on the overall outcome.

United

The manager has told the press this morning that he will play his strongest available team which surely means that Van Der Sar will make his first appearance in the FA Cup this season after being rested in previous rounds when Kuszczak and Lindegaard were given an opportunity.


In light of the lack of width available, I would select the more attacking Rafael ahead of the steady O'Shea. The young Brazilian will need to rein in his natural impetuousness against the Gunners as they will target him considering his recent lapses in temperament. With Ferdinand still absent, Smalling, Vidic and Evra will make up the rest of the back four.


The midfield will surely welcome back Fletcher's energy alongside Carrick with the much maligned Daron Gibson as my surprise pick alongside. With a lack of alternatives and Scholes saved for Marseille, the Irishman will have a big chance to impress.


My front three pick is a combination of Rooney, Berbatov and Giggs which will be fairly flexible with starting positions likely to see the Bulgarian central, the Welshman on the right and the Englishman on the left. Both the wide men will switch sides during the game no doubt as both will simply cut in on their favoured foot if they remain rigid which becomes predictable for the opposition.


Although there will be calls for a start for the prolific Hernandez, I would expect a spot on the bench alongside the likes of Obertan, Fabio, O'Shea and Scholes.

Score Prediction
Without any confidence, I will go for a narrow 2-1 win for United. I would expect a tight match with few chances with the fear of defeat inflicting both sides. I can see the home team's sheer will to win shining through on home turf thus consigning Arsenal to a confidence sapping loss. I will go for a Fletcher opener for United in the first 15 minutes (as stats are there to be broken!) followed by an equaliser from Nasri. Berbatov will then seal a vital victory for the home team late on.


The margins are so fine that it could easily be argued that the match will go the other way. However, I see a burning spirit within this United team that will just not tolerate another defeat so I tip them to grind out the victory and restore confidence ahead of the Champions League 2nd Leg on Tuesday.

As usual, I will be including a selection of your tweets in my post match review.

Please leave any comments below on your thoughts ahead of the game.