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Premier League: Manchester City vs Arsenal Preview

Manchester City vs Arsenal Preview
Photo credit to James Anderson via Flickr

Premier League

Manchester City vs Arsenal Preview

Manchester City will welcome Arsenal to the Etihad for undoubtedly the biggest clash this weekend. The game will kick off at 5:30 PM CET on Sunday. A game of massive stature, this time also might be of massive importance vis-a-vis the title race. Arsenal are in 4th place with 47 points, 9 behind second placed City.

Arsenal’s form has been wavering but they will be coming off the back of successive Premier League wins. One of which was the 2-0 victory over Chelsea. They must win this game if they are to close the gap between them and Spurs in 3rd place.

As for Manchester City, they have been in fine form across all competitions. However, they were handed a hammer-blow last week as they fell to a 2-1 defeat against Newcastle. They were fortunate in the sense that Liverpool also dropped 2 points in a draw against Leicester. Now they need to get back to winning ways if they hope to catch up the the league leaders.

Team News

Hosts Manchester City have most of their strong players at their disposal. Vincent Kompany remains out injured and so does backup keeper Claudio Bravo. Pep Guardiola provided an update on Benjamin Mendy saying that “it is day by day”. There are also doubts about first choice keeper Ederson’s availability after he suffered a gash against Newcastle.

Arsenal will be without right back Hector Bellerin due to the ligament injury that has ruled him out for the season. Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Sokratis have both suffered ankle injuries and are in doubt. Other than that Unai Emery should have the best possible players to field.

Ones To Watch

The hosts have a plethora of difference makers among their ranks but they will be specifically counting on their attacking firepower. Sergio Aguero has scored in 7 of his last 11 games against Arsenal. Leroy Sane has also been in typically great form of late. City will also look to Kevin De Bruyne to pull the strings in midfield.

The visitors will have a battle on their hands. For that they will have to pull  out their 2 biggest weapons up front. Alexandre Lacazette is a potent threat having scored against Chelsea and Cardiff in consecutive league games. And of course the other prong of the attack is Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. The Gabonese also netted against Cardiff and with 15 goals, he is the second top scorer in the league.

Interesting Facts and Prediction

Here are a few noteworthy tidbits about this high octane fixture in the past as well as the present:

  • With a win on Sunday, Manchester City can win 4 consecutive PL games against the Gunners for the first time since 1937.
  • Arsenal have lost in 7 of their last 11 visits to the Etihad in all competitions.
  • The Gunners have lost 11 of their last 19 Premier League away fixtures. The rest have resulted in 5 wins and 3 draws.
  • City have lost 3 of their last 7 league games when they have scored first.
  • Guardiola has never lost a match against Unai Emery in both their managerial careers. Pep has 7 wins and 4 draws under his belt against the Frenchman.

Taking form, injuries and the home advantage into consideration, this game looks like it will result in a Manchester City win on paper. However, Arsenal will be confident after beating Chelsea after a good showing. They will certainly take the fight to City and it can tilt either way. As for the prediction, for now it looks like 3 points for City.

Prediction: Manchester City 3-1 Arsenal

 

Photo credit to James Anderson via Flickr

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