Arsenal face Manchester United at Old Trafford in the opening weekend of the Premier League, and it’s a perfect fixture to get the season going.

Arsenal vs Manchester United is always a spectacle, and fixing it in the opening weekend of the Premier League season is absolute cinema.

You can’t really say if there’s a perfect time to fix these kinds of games, and most people prefer it in the middle of the season, but setting up two big teams immediately when the season starts is impressive.

Manchester United have an incredible record on opening weekends. This fixture will be just the second time the two sides have faced each other in the opening game of a domestic league campaign.

The last time they did so, the Red Devils were comfortable 4-1 winners in 1989-90, with Steve Bruce and Mark Hughes among the scorers that day for Sir Alex Ferguson’s side.

Manchester United come into this game off the back of poor season, and for Arsenal, there’s the anger of missing out on the Premier League once again. The Gunners have finished second on the log for the third time in a row. On the opening weekend, they will want to make a statement against Manchester United.

Amorim, on the other hand, will not take it lightly. This is his first full season at Old Trafford, and he needs a result to send a message through the red side of Manchester that he actually means business. It will be an interesting fixture, and the timing is just perfect. 

Team News

Both Gyokeres and Sesko are expected to make their debuts. It would be something special to see both players run out of the dugout and make the net ripple in their opening games, especially in a match of this calibre. If Gyokeres does score, he would become just the third man to score against Man United at Old Trafford on their Premier League debut, following in the footsteps of Mo Johnston (1992) and Paulo Wanchope (1997).

For the Red Devils, Joshua Zirkzee and Andre Onana are expected to be in the starting lineup, while Noussair Mazraoui (hamstring) and Lisandro Martinez (knee) will both be absent. Arsenal on the other had will be hoping that Trossard’s groin injury subsides before the game, leaving long-term ACL victim Gabriel Jesus as the visitors’ only fitness-related absentee.

Manchester United Predicted XI:

Onana; Yoro, Maguire, Shaw; Dalot, Casemiro, Fernandes, Dorgu; Mbeumo, Cunha; Sesko

Arsenal Predicted XI:

Raya; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Lewis-Skelly; Odegaard, Zubimendi, Rice; Saka, Gyokeres, Martinelli