Date published: Wednesday 18th January 2023 3:33 – Lewis Oldham
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Mikael Silvestre has given Erik ten Hag’s side the edge as he has picked out his combined XI made up of Arsenal and Manchester United players.
Arsenal host Man Utd at the Emirates on Sunday in the Premier League. Both sides are in great form and the Londoners find themselves eight points clear at the top of the table after 18 games.
United have enjoyed a resurgence in recent months and they beat rivals Manchester City 2-1 last weekend. They face Crystal Palace on Wednesday night before they travel to play Arsenal.
If Ten Hag’s side are able to win both games, they will certainly be in the title race and that would have been unthinkable after their early-season defeats against Brentford and Brighton.
The Dutchman is doing a great job. They may not put in a sustained challenge for the title this season but you would have to back them to do so in 2023/24.
Arsenal meanwhile have been a surprise package this term and they are emerging as serious title contenders alongside Man City.
Despite their strong position in the league, Silvestre has gone for a 6-5 split in favour of Man Utd with his combined XI. His team is as follows.
David De Gea; Diogo Dalot, William Saliba, Raphael Varane, Oleksandr Zinchenko; Martin Odegaard, Casemiro, Christian Eriksen; Bukayo Saka, Marcus Rashford, Gabriel Martinelli.
Silvestre went onto suggest that United playing away is “almost like playing against Man City at home”.
“You know what, I think United playing away, it’s almost like playing against City at home,” Silvestre told bettingexpert.
“Because we expect Arsenal to have more possession but United’s transition play and going forward is good.
“So, you always have a stronger feeling when you’re playing at home with your own supporters cheering for you, which is good for Arsenal but on the other side, United away from home can manoeuvre and get the result.”
Silvestre went on to explain why he feels Man Utd have a better midfield than Arsenal.
“I think the two midfields are at the same level. Maybe, if you compare Xhaka, Partey, Odegaard, we’re talking about those three versus Eriksen, Fernandes, Casemiro,” Silvestre added.
“I would rather go for the United midfield than Arsenal because of age, experience and achievements in their career,”
“But it’s a great battle because Partey, Xhaka, Ødegaard are in the form of their lives.
“If we have those six playing in midfield, it will be a fantastic opposition.
“There’s danger everywhere but most of the games when you control the midfield, when I say control it’s not necessarily on the ball but it’s also defensively and also controlling in transition, you have a good chance of winning.
“It will be an important aspect of the game this weekend.”
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