You Bet | No love lost as Arsenal and Manchester United fight over the scraps from the top table
Visitors to the Emirates Stadium are the handicap pick despite midweek trip to Spain in the Europa League as Arsene Wenger and Jose Mourinho renew hostilities
Arsenal against Manchester United, for so long one of the tastiest clashes of the English Premier League season, has turned into a fight over the scraps from the top table when they meet on Sunday with Champions League qualification hanging in the balance.
As it stands, Arsenal and United are outside the Champions League places in sixth and fifth, and the prospect of both clubs missing out on Europe’s elite competition will increase if there is no winner, while the losing side will find it hard to recover with only a handful of matches to play.
The need for victory is pressing, although that could ease if Manchester City or Liverpool fail to collect he anticipated three points against Crystal Palace and Southampton.
Assuming there are no slip-ups by the teams in third and fourth, United will start the match four points off a Champions League place while Arsenal will be nine points adrift, albeit with games in hand.
United have another route to the Champions League by winning the Europa League and Jose Mourinho’s side increased their chances of doing that with Thursday night’s 1-0 win at Celta Vigo in the first leg of their semi-final.
Their Premier League position would become irrelevant if they won that competition and finished outside the top four, which would make them a fifth English entrant to next season’s Champions League along with the top four finishers.