Jose Mourinho already has a lot of pressure on his shoulders at Manchester United, and he's in a position where he could be under a huge gun here against Arsenal, a team that has proven to be a huge thorn both in the side of the Red Devils and for Mourinho over the course of his time in the Premier League.
At 7:30 a.m. ET, tune into NBC Sports Network for live television coverage of this English Premier League match on Saturday, November 19, 2016, at Old Trafford.
Soccer Odds at BookMaker.eu
Manchester United +162
Arsenal +186
Draw +223
Over/Under 2.5
Odds Analysis
This is about as close of a match as you're going to see in the Premier League. It's clear that the oddsmakers have a lot of confidence right now in Arsenal, sitting in fourth in the table, versus Manchester United, sitting in sixth. The Gunners are the underdogs by the ever slightest margin at PK and +100 on the Asian Handicap, but if this match was being played in London instead of Manchester, we'd be talking about them being the odds-on favorite to take all three points.
Instead, it's the Red Devils who are favored, albeit at a high payoff at +162 on the moneyline.
The total is set relatively low by EPL standards at 2.5 with -119 vig on the under.
Key Injuries
The last thing Arsene Wenger needed to go through was another bad injury, but that's what he got last month when Santiago Cazorla was hurt in the Champions League against Ludogorets Razgrad. He's out with an Achilles injury now and won't be back for a while in all likelihood, and that puts him on a list with Per Mertesacker, Danny Welbeck and Chuba Akpom as the long-term absentees for the club.
The big issue Mourinho has is that Zlatan Ibrahimovic isn't going to be playing because of a one-man ban after picking up his fifth yellow card of the season just before the international break. The good news is that Mou has had plenty of time to figure out how to replace him, but the bad news is that Wayne Rooney, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Luke Shaw and Valencia are all question marks as well for this match.
Recent Form
Arsenal has gotten some good results of late, but there's definitely some cause for concern. The team was stuck with a 1-1 draw in the derby with Tottenham before the international break, and that came on the heels of a very fortunate 3-2 win against Ludogorets in the UCL. The Gunners though, haven't been beaten in a game at any level since the very first Premier League match of the season against Liverpool at home.
Man U really needed the three points that it picked up against Swansea City at Liberty Stadium just before the international break. Three days earlier, the team was beaten in Turkey at Fenerbache, and that came just a handful of days before drawing 0-0 against Burnley and losing 4-0 to Chelsea. Mourinho still needs some time to get the Red Devils playing his form of soccer, and we're still seeing some growing pains.
Free Soccer Betting Pick
Rooney is the key man in this match for the Red Devils, and he's had his share of problems of late. He's been asked to play in the midfield for England and has had a hard time even getting on the field for big matches for Manchester United. Now, he's going to have to play this match just days after getting caught with pictures surfacing being drunk at a wedding.
Rooney is likely to be the only man in attack, replacing Ibrahimovic, and that's just not a prospect we want to see. Don't be surprised if Manchester United parks the proverbial bus and basically dares Arsenal to try to attack. You don't do that against a team at this level and live to tell about it often. We'll definitely take the Gunners as underdogs on the Asian Handicap and have the safety of return in the event of a draw.
English Premier League Odds: Arsenal 2, Manchester United 0
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