Clashes between Arsene Wenger and Jose Mourinho were once a foregone conclusion in favour of the latter, but that just isn't the case these days. The Frenchman's Arsenal took four points off the Portuguese's Manchester United last season in a campaign which saw Wenger's first ever league win over his arch-rival. At the same time, while many expect United to finish much closer to the top than the north Londoners this season, the Gunners have won all seven of their home games thus far - in contrast, the Red Devils have won just one of their last four on the road. So, how will Saturday's clash at the Emirates Stadium pan out? Here's everything you need to know ahead of the 5.30pm kickoff...

Head-to-Head

Despite once being equals as the two most dominant forces in English football, it's Manchester United who have fared much better in this fixture throughout the Premier League era.

They've claimed more wins, kept more clean sheets and scored more goals - their only statistical parity is red cards with four apiece. Accordingly, Arsenal haven't even won more than half of their games against United at home, their victory rate standing at just 40%.

That being said, Arsenal have enjoyed greater fortune more recently; they've won two and lost only one of the last five meetings in the Premier League and claimed four points against the Red Devils last season.

Referee influence - Andre Marriner

Mourinho will be licking his lips at the prospect of Marriner officiating this one. While Arsenal fans know him best for wrongly sending off Kieran Gibbs against Mourinho's Chelsea three years ago, his lenient style of refereeing will surely benefit United more this weekend.

We all know how important physicality is in trying to beat Arsenal and stifle the momentum of their fluid attack; Marriner has averaged the fewest fouls per tackle and the fewest fouls per match of any referee to work in the Premier League this season, ranking 18th out of 18 on both fronts.

That naturally lends itself to the kind of defensive tactics we've come to expect from Mourinho in the big games and the kind of performances that have become synonymous with stopping Arsenal. But if there's one positive for the Gunners to take from Marriner's returns this season it's that 70% of the games he's officiated have ended in home wins. That suggests a tendency to side with the home crowd.

Expected Starting XIs

Wenger will see little cause for change after his side's 5-0 win over Huddersfield in midweek at the Emirates Stadium, where the Gunners are yet to fail to win this season. However, an injury to Alexandre Lacazette in that fixture inevitably forces the Gunners boss to make a decision up top, with Danny Welbeck, Olivier Giroud and Alexis Sanchez amongst the candidates to fill the void. Although Giroud scored twice from the bench on Wednesday night, we reckon Sanchez will move to the spearhead of the attack with Welbeck taking his wide forward slot. The England international has two goals in three Premier League appearances against his former club.

While Watford's late comeback suggested Manchester United weren't entirely comfortable with three at the back on Tuesday evening, we're expecting Mourinho to set up his side in a similar manner against Arsenal in an attempt to cancel out their 3-4-3 - albeit switching slightly to a 3-5-2 with an attacking midfielder traded for another body in the engine room. That sees Marcus Rashford line up alongside Romelu Lukaku in attack, forming a rather exciting strike partnership, and Ander Herrera come into the starting XI at the expense of midweek goalscorer Jesse Lingard. Nemanja Matic could miss out through injury, however, which would leave a huge gap at the base of United's midfield and potentially force Mourinho into a re-think.

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