(Football news) Manchester United will welcome bottom placed side Norwich City to Old Trafford on Saturday, hoping to secure that much needed victory after a terrible 1-0 defeat to Everton at Goodison Park. The Red Devils are seventh on the league table, six points behind Tottenham Hotspur who are fourth while Norwich City are all but assured of relegation. 

It’s imperative that Manchester United win this fixture, especially against the weakest side in the Premier League. They have won their last five matches against Norwich City in all competitions, including a 1-0 win at Carrow Road earlier this season. Ralf Rangnick’s team needs the three points not just for their Champions League aspirations, but also because they will be facing Liverpool at Anfield next, followed by Arsenal, Brentford, Brighton, Chelsea and Crystal Palace. 

In team news, Manchester United will be without Edinson Cavani and Luke Shaw due to injuries while the likes of Raphael Varane, Fred and Scott McTominay remain doubtful. Victor Lindelof, Paul Pogba and Nemanja Matic are expected to feature in the starting XI while Alex Telles will feature at left back, Diogo Dalot could replace Aaron Wan Bissaka and Anthony Elanga could play instead of Marcus Rashford.

As for Norwich City, Adam Idah, Ozan Kabak and Andrew Omobamidele are unavailable due to injuries while Brandon Williams cannot play against his parent club. Billy Gilmour, Josh Sargent and Przemyslaw Placheta are also doubtful for the clash and Dean Smith could name an unchanged lineup from the team that defeated Burnley 2-0 last week. Max Aarons came off the bench last week and could feature at right back while Timo Pukki is expected to receive support from Pierre Lees Melou, Milot Rashica and Kieran Dowell.

Meanwhile at the St. Mary’s Stadium, Arsenal will look to reignite their Champions League hopes with a win over Southampton. The hosts will feature Armando Broja in the starting lineup while Adam Armstrong could be on the bench. Shane Long, Alex McCarthy and Lyanco could return from their injury issues and Ibrahima Diallo is expected to replace Oriol Romeu while Theo Walcott will be on the bench. 

As for Arsenal, Kieran Tierney is out for the remainder of the season and Thomas Partey is injured. Nuno Tavares is expected to feature at left back while Granit Xhaka will play in midfield alongside Albert Sambi Lokonga. Gabriel Martinelli or Eddie Nketiah could lead the attack this weekend as Alexandre Lacazette has been absent from training due to unspecified reasons. It should be a comfortable victory for Arsenal as Southampton are defensively indisciplined and are likely to concede a few goals.

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