Carrick without two Man Utd stars for Arsenal game but £17.1m ace returns

Manchester United interim manager Michael Carrick will be without Matthijs de Ligt and Joshua Zirkzee for Sunday’s Premier League game against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium.

The Red Devils registered a stunning 2-0 win over Manchester City at Old Trafford last weekend. As a result, they are only one point behind fourth-placed Liverpool in the league with a match in hand.

United have a brilliant opportunity to climb into the top four tomorrow. Ahead of the clash, The Sun report that the Red Devils have boarded a train to London at Stockport Station without two key players.

De Ligt was already ruled out for the encounter by Carrick, and it appears Zirkzee has likewise not recovered from the injury that kept him out of the recent Manchester derby.

While the duo have not travelled to London, the Red Devils have received a timely boost with Noussair Mazraoui back in the squad, after returning from Africa Cup of Nations duty with Morocco.

United beat the Gunners in the FA Cup third round at the Emirates last season on penalties, but they have had a poor league record at the stadium with no victories in the last seven meetings.

The Red Devils have suffered six losses and picked up a solitary draw. They will be high in confidence after dominating Man City, but must be vigilant at the back against Arsenal’s attacking quality.

Unlike City, the Gunners pose a goalscoring threat in open play and from set pieces. United have a huge task on their hands to prevent Arsenal from scoring from corners or free-kicks tomorrow.

We would ideally like to see Mazraoui start at right-back ahead of Diogo Dalot to provide more defensive solidity. The £17.1 million signing is probably the best at United in winning key duels.

However, that seems unlikely to happen. Carrick was full of praise for Dalot for his response after his early booking in the derby. The Portuguese looks poised to start over the Moroccan at right-back.

Stats from Transfermarkt.com

Article written by Sri Aswin .