Soccer Moment

Man Utd defender Jonny Evans may play despite pain from an ankle problem that will eventually require surgery.

Wes Brown is available after coming through a reserve game unscathed but Rio Ferdinand (thigh) is about two or three weeks away from a return.

Arsenal's Robin van Persie and Andrey Arshavin are likely to return after dropping to the bench against Celtic.

Cesc Fabregas (hamstring) misses out, Aaron Ramsey is a slight doubt but Tomas Rosicky is back in training.

Manchester United

Suspended: None Doubtful: Evans (ankle)

Injured: Ferdinand (thigh), Hargreaves (knee), Obertan (unspecified), Rafael (shoulder), Van der Sar (hand)

Arsenal

Suspended: None Doubtful: Ramsey (knee)

Injured: Djourou (knee), Fabianski (knee), Fabregas (hamstring), Nasri (leg), Walcott (back)

Sir Alex Ferguson: "The character of the teams has changed since over the years and there are no Roy Keanes or Patrick Vieiras around now. The volatile characters don't figure and the personalities of the teams are different. But last season's 0-0 draw at Old Trafford became a bit heated in some moments, so these fixtures are no less competitive. They are just different types of games."

Arsene Wenger: "I am happy to go there because it is the first big, big test. You want always to have a high level of confidence when you go to Old Trafford and we have that at the moment. For us it is most important to recover physically because Manchester United didn't play in the League Cup on Wednesday and we have to recover quickly."

Prediction: Man Utd -1/4