Preview: Manchester United vs. Arsenal
by RivalsDM
Updated: April 11, 2008, 8:49 AM EST 1 comment
add this RSS blog email print
Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand will face Arsenal at Old Trafford on Sunday despite needing three stitches in his foot in midweek.
Ferdinand suffered the injury in the victory against Roma in the Champions League in midweek.
The foot was also swollen but Sir Alex Ferguson expects him to recover in time for the match against their title rivals.
Patrice Evra could return at left-back after missing the European game with a knock.
Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney are both expected to be restored to the side after being on the bench against Roma.
Nemanja Vidic (knee), Nani (thigh), Darren Fletcher (knee) and Louis Saha (hamstring) remain sidelined through injury.
Meanwhile Mathieu Flamini has been ruled out of Arsenal's key clash with Manchester United on Sunday so Gilberto is set for a rare start at Old Trafford.
Flamini has been ruled out for three weeks with an ankle problem and will almost certainly be replaced in the starting line-up by Gilberto.
Defender Bacary Sagna remains on the sidelines with his ankle problem but striker Robin van Persie could start after coming on as a substitute against Liverpool.
Kick-off on Sunday is at 4pm.
United (from): Van der Sar, Neville, Brown, Ferdinand, Silvestre, Evra, 0'Shea, Ronaldo, Scholes, Anderson, Hargreaves, Carrick, Giggs, Park, Rooney, Tevez, Kuszczak, Foster, Pique, Welbeck.
Gunners (from): Almunia, Toure, Gallas, Senderos, Clichy, Eboue, Fabregas, Hleb, Van Persie, Adebayor, Lehmann, Song, Gilberto, Hoyte, Bendtner, Walcott, Diaby.