Manchester City vs Arsenal
Date: 03/02/2019
K/O: 16:30
Venue: Etihad Stadium
Referee: Martin Atkinson
TV: Sky Sports Main Event
Manchester City host Arsenal on Sunday afternoon hoping to cut Liverpool’s lead at the top to two points before they face West Ham on Monday night. Arsenal have a different agenda on their hands though and after both Chelsea and Manchester United slipping up during the week, they will be keen to cement their place in the top four.
The Gunners leaped into fourth place without playing on Wednesday night as Chelsea capitulated against Bournemouth at the Vitality. Manchester City had a mixed week in losing to Newcastle but then watching Liverpool drop two points the day later against Leicester City. A win is a must for both sides and a thrilling contest is in store on Sunday afternoon.
Manchester City were on a great run of form before Tuesday’s defeat in which they scored a first-minute goal and then played at a complacent walking pace from then on allowing Newcastle back into the game. Guardiola will be tough on his players and a fired up Manchester City could be too much for Arsenal to handle.
As for Arsenal, Emery has slowly turned various elements of their culture already but one thing he has struggled to change is Arsenal’s flakiness on the road to fellow top six teams. Arsenal conceded three in a topsy turvey loss away at Chelsea, conceded two in a messy draw with Mourinho’s United and five away at Anfield in an embarrassing loss to Liverpool. A similar display this weekend could see a big loss again.
Manchester City have Kevin De Bruyne back fully fit and both Aguero and Jesus are in form. Yet, there is the potential for rotation with the Citizens having three fixtures in a week as they travel to Everton during the week and face Chelsea at the Etihad next week.
There are doubts over Ederson who should shake off a knee injury to play. Riyad Mahrez hasn’t played a minute in the league this year so may be in line for a return but with the title on the line and Sane and Sterling in decent form, it appears Guardiola doesn’t trust his big summer signing just yet. Bernardo Silva and Gabriel Jesus are both pushing for returns given their form and there is still a chance Benjamin Mendy is fit to return. Vincent Kompany and Claudio Bravo are definitely out for this one though.
Arsenal have seemingly had a defensive injury crisis all season and this weekend is no different with Sokratis, Bellerin, Holding and Maitland Niles all absent. There are also huge doubts over the fitness of Koscielny but he has supposedly been clear to play from the off against the reigning Champions. Mkhitaryan and Welbeck will also miss out but it is the defensive issues which could be crucial and Manchester City will relish playing against an uneven defensive line.
The key matchup in the game could be Sane and Sterling against Lichsteiner and Kolasinac. Lichsteiner is unlikely to be able to cope with the gliding, balletic movement of Leroy Sane and Kolasinac has been in good form recently but mostly from an attacking mindset. Raheem Sterling will look to exploit this with his ever-improving movement. Tuesday’s loss aside both City wingers have been in good form and it would be no surprise to see a City goal or two from one winger cutting it across to the other for a tap in.
Predicted Starting XIs
Manchester City (4-3-3): Ederson; Walker, Laporte, Stones, Danilo; Fernandinho, Bernardo, De Bruyne; Sterling, Aguero, Sane
Arsenal (4-3-3): Leno; Lichsteiner, Mustafi, Monreal, Kolasinac; Torreira, Xhaka, Guendouzi; Ramsey, Lacazette, Aubameyang
Score Prediction: Manchester City 3 Arsenal 1
Manchester City perhaps got lucky during the week and with the gap now only at five in comparison to seven they will be desperate to not let another chance slip. Arsenal have not traveled well against the top six this season and could be in for a long afternoon in Manchester.
