Six players could miss Arsenal vs Man Utd as Carrick confirms injury timeline

Manchester United will be looking to dent Arsenal's title aspirations and significantly boost their own Champions League hopes when they meet on Sunday afternoon.

Arsenal are looking to move one step closer to ending their long wait to return to the summit of English football. Mikel Arteta is leading the quest towards becoming the first Gunners' side to get their hands on a Premier League trophy since Arsene Wenger's Invincibles in 2004.

Old foes Manchester United will be looking to damage their hopes when they travel to the Emirates Stadium on Sunday (4.30pm kick-off) with Michael Carrick's side looking to make it back-to-back wins. The red half of north London were jubilant before their showdown with Nottingham Forest last week as the Red Devils hampered rivals Manchester City's title aspirations in a comfortable 2-0 win at Old Trafford.

This weekend, the two lock horns with United looking to reinforce their hopes of qualifying for the Champions League and if results go in their favour, they could see themselves in the top-four before the end of the month.

Mirror Football has taken a look at the latest injury news from both camps;

Arsenal injury news

Arsenal are facing a race against time to have both Piero Hincapie and Riccardo Calafiori fit for Sunday's meeting. The Gunners' two defensive options were back in training on Friday ahead of the game.

Arteta said: "Yeah we have another training session. We'll see and make a decision on the squad."

Calafiori pulled up during the warm-up before December's win over Brighton. He has missed the last eight games across all competitions with a muscle complaint, but has steadily returned to full fitness.

The on-loan Bayer Leverkusen defender, Hincapie, has been side-lined since he was forced off during a 0-0 draw with reigning champions Liverpool, this month.

A groin injury has put an end to the Ecuadorian's selection availability. But his return to training comes as a boost for Arteta's options at the back.

Reports have emerged over the last 24 hours there are worries from Arsenal's point of view over the fitness of Kai Havertz. The Germany star has returned from a serious knee injury, but he continues to wait for his second start of the season.

The 26-year-old suffered a setback in his rehabilitation, although he managed to return to Arsenal's subs bench in late December. The fight for full fitness will continue with reports claiming that his minutes will be managed.

Rising star Max Dowman remains side-lined after picking up an ankle ligament injury during a behind-closed-doors friendly. That was, incidentally, against Sunday's opponents, Man Utd, last month.

Manchester United injury news

The feel-good factor is back at United after their impressive win against Manchester City during Carrick's second coming as the club's interim head coach. However, they will head to the Premier League leaders without Matthijs de Ligt as his recovery is expected to take longer than expected.

The Dutchman could return from injury in the coming weeks. However, the recovery from his back injury has put a slight delay on his return date.

Carrick said: "He had a bit of setback before I arrived, only small. He was a little bit slower than we had liked.

"He's getting closer. Hopefully in the next couple of weeks he will be back and around it."

Joshua Zirkzee will also miss the trip to the capital, as speculation surrounding his future continues. The Dutch forward was forced to withdraw from the win over City with a knock, and has missed the preparations to face Arsenal, too.

The temporary United boss said: "I will not tell you the team. No everyone came through the game really well actually.

"It has been a good week. A big result, a big performance and a big uplift with the feeling inside the stadium.

"It is finding a balance between getting the encouragement and confidence from the game and performance and keeping level headed and keeping our feet on the ground.

"We have got another big game coming up. One game does not make a great team. It gives us a great foundation to build on. There's a lot of confidence, a lot of good feeling in the group but measured with that is we know what is coming - and we have got to be ready for it."