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Marquee matchup: Mourinho vs. Wenger comes to Madchester

The latest bout between Jose Mourinho and Arsene Wenger is staged away from its traditional venue of London, as the former offers his French foe a characteristically cold welcome at Manchester United's Old Trafford.

The two managers have been sparring for some time, exchanging verbal digs in the press room and almost coming the blows in the technical area during Mourinho's two Chelsea stints and Wenger's long-term Arsenal residency. But, just because this meeting is staged in "Madchester" - the home of baggy beats - doesn't mean it's going to be happy Mondays when they return to training next week.

This is an occasion with the snarl of The Fall frontman Mark E. Smith, rather than the jubliant, front-crawl bounce of a Hacienda rave.

(Courtesy: notey)

So who has the rhythm to beat its rival from the other half of England - United or Arsenal?

Injuries and suspensions

The loss of Hector Bellerin from the right-hand side of the back four is huge, and there are few options in reserve for Wenger to select from. Santi Cazorla remains sidelined, but Alexis Sanchez is fit, according a text from the Chilean to his manager.

Mourinho may be forced to turn to fit-again Luke Shaw after appearing to publicly question the legitimacy of his injuries to the press. His potential inclusion comes amid a glut of injuries: Eric Bailly, Chris Smalling, and Antonio Valencia are all missing from the backline. Zlatan Ibrahimovic, meanwhile, is suspended.

Projected lineups

Manchester United starting XI: De Gea; Darmian, Blind, Rojo, Shaw; Herrera, Pogba; Lingard, Mata, Rashford; Rooney

Arsenal starting XI: Cech; Jenkinson, Mustafi, Koscielny, Monreal; Coquelin, Xhaka; Walcott, Ozil, Iwobi; Sanchez

What to watch

Bellerin's absence sparked a poll on the Arsenal website for fans to decide who they wanted deployed at right-back. Forgotten man Mathieu Debuchy continues to struggle with calf issues, so Carl Jenkinson would seem the likeliest candidate. The doubts that surround that move would be the fact that the ex-Charlton youngster has just played Reading and Ludogorets Razgrad since he overcame cruciate ligament damage, so an intense trip to Stretford may be too much for the one-time England international.

The alternatives would be testing the versatility of midfielder Francis Coquelin or centre-half Gabriel in that spot, or handing a first Premier League start to promising midfielder-turned-full-back Ainsley Maitland-Niles, who's just 19.

(Courtesy: Arsenal)

The other selection quandary lies in where Aaron Ramsey can fit in. The Welshman's intelligence and technique would complement most midfields in world football, but ditching an out-of-sorts Alex Iwobi from the lineup would spark a major, and perhaps unsettling, reshuffle. Granit Xhaka, due to concerns over his discipline heading into a potentially prickly encounter, would be a plausible choice for the bench.

United, meanwhile, has its own injury issues in defence to contend with. Unless Mourinho goes for the inconsistent Marcos Rojo at centre-half, there's a chance United could be pairing Phil Jones and Daley Blind in the middle of the back four - both of whom don't exceed six feet. This would be an invitation for Wenger to get Olivier Giroud to bustle around nearby to Alexis Sanchez at some point in the afternoon.

Ibrahimovic's suspension sees Marcus Rashford hoping to take the centre-forward role ahead of Wayne Rooney, who's been the victim of an overreaction from the British press after appearing to knock back a few glasses of wine on England duty. Rashford has earned his chance, and tore Arsenal apart in the teams' last meeting in February - although getting past Shkodran Mustafi is a wholly different proposition to sidestepping Gabriel.

Something that will endure in Mourinho's United era until positive results are acquired on a regular basis is the exorbitant fee paid for Paul Pogba, and how, at times, he can look uncomfortable in his manager's dead-set 4-2-3-1 formation. The Frenchman has actually been quietly effective, but it's matches with the intensity and importance of Saturday's tilt where the world's most-expensive footballer has to step up.

The current environment in the top flight - blockbuster bosses overseeing clubs throughout the division - means that cameras will again be panned on the technical area.

And certainly for this clash.

Related: The best of Jose Mourinho vs. Arsene Wenger

Mourinho feels he doesn't get the respect that's laid on Wenger, despite the pair making up the most successful incumbent managers in the Premier League. Try to stay in a job for longer than three years, Jose, and deliver on your latest promise:

(Courtesy: @ManUtd)

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