Arsenal v Manchester United Tips

This weekend's feast of Premiership action culminates with arguably the most potentially enthralling match - Arsenal v Manchester United at the Emirates on Sunday afternoon. This is United's first visit to the Gunners' new stadium and Arsene Wenger's men will go all out to defend their unbeaten home record. The Red Devils, meanwhile, will be seeking revenge having suffered a reverse at the hands of Arsenal at Old Trafford back in September - the only defeat inflicted on them at the Theatre of Dreams so far this season. In terms of selection headaches, Arsenal face more problems. Gilberto, who has been a rock in the middle of the park for the north London this term, is out through suspension. Mathieu Flamini could step into the breach and is an able deputy, but there's no doubt that the Brazilian's absence is a blow. Ljungberg and Gallas are still a couple of weeks away from match fitness, but Eboue is back in the mix and the vibes are positive with regard to Robin van Persie making the squad at least. Sir Alex Ferguson's charges, who have amassed an incredible 52 goals in their last 23 games, have managed to beat Arsenal in two of their last ten visits to the Gunners' former backyard, Highbury, while four matches finished all square and Arsenal claimed five victories. With Arsenal, you can never be 100 per cent sure what you are going to get, although their recent form has been pretty sound - they've won six of their last seven, including when outpointing Blackburn at Ewood Park last weekend despite playing for most of the game with 10 men. The feature of that match was a breathtaking Henry goal to seal the victory halfway through the second half when the Frenchman linked up with Cesc Fabregas to produce a strike which is sure to rank highly when it comes to assessing the goal of the season at the end of the current campaign. United were pretty awesome in their latest match too. Three goals within the space of 35 minutes put their fixture with Aston Villa to bed, recording their ninth win out of their 11 games in all competitions in the process. In essence, the current form of both sides points to this bout being as full-blooded an encounter as we've witness between these two clubs in recent times. It's interesting to gauge the bookies' opinions of how this clash will end, and generally Arsenal are marginal favourites, albeit it by a slender margin. The Gunners are a best-priced 13/8 with Sporting Odds, while Portland Bet are the most generous about an away win, offering odds of 19/10 about the visitors in the match result market. Personally, though, I can't see these sides being separated and reckon that I draw will ensue. United are as good away as they are at home, something which has set them apart from the pursuers during the current campaign. But, equally, Arsenal are awesome at the Emirates when at the top of their game - and one would expect they'll be fired up for this one! At 11/5 with Portland Bet, draw in the match result market looks the way to go. If pushed, I'd say that this will end 1-1, but it could just as easy turn out to be a stalemate, or a high-score draw with plenty of fireworks to boot. As such, opting for the outright draw rates the safe option. Verdict - 2.50pts draw in the match result market @ 11/5 (Portland Bet)