Arsenal vs Manchester City
Date: 01/03/18
K/O: 19:45pm
TV: Sky Sports Main Event
Arsenal face Man City for the second time in five days, as the Gunners look to bounce back from their limp Carabao Cup final defeat to the Citizens on Sunday.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan will return to the starting lineup after being cup tied on Sunday, though Nacho Monreal may miss out after suffering a back injury in the first half. Petr Cech will return in goal.
Sead Kolasinac could deputise if the Spaniard does not recover, while Per Mertesacker will be hopeful of a start after an unconvincing performance from the Gunners’ back three in the 3-0 loss.
City will be without Fernandinho due to injury, while Fabian Delph remains suspended following his red card at Wigan. Ederson will replace Claudio Bravo in goal, but Raheem Sterling will likely not be risked.
The Sky Blues are buoyed however by the return of Gabriel Jesus, who came off the bench against Arsenal for his first appearance of 2018. The Brazilian should again feature from the bench as he is yet to return to full fitness.
After a disastrous performance at Wembley, Arsene Wenger will surely be pressed to freshen up his lineup.
Embed from Getty ImagesWith Alexandre Lacazette still sidelined, Pierre Emerick Aubameyang will again get the nod in attack, but having been completely dominated by Vincent Kompany on Sunday, the Gabonese forward has a big point to prove in front of his own fans.
Alex Iwobi and Danny Welbeck could inject pace and direct play to the Gunners’ starting lineup, but Wenger looks set to stick with Mesut Ozil, leaving little room for the wide men to feature.
Man City travel to London again knowing that they will surely face a tougher test than at the weekend.
3-0 did not flatter the Citizens, who were in complete control against a Gunners side who have struggled away from home this season.
Embed from Getty ImagesYet the Emirates Stadium has been something of a fortress for Arsenal this season, only the two Manchester clubs can better their tally of 32 home points in 2017/18, and Wenger’s team will take solace from their record as they again attempt to contain this imperious City side
Pep Guardiola must choose whether to stick with a defence which completely controlled the game on Sunday, or rotate in the hope of injecting fresher legs.
John Stones and Aymeric Laporte are ready to play if they get the nod, with Vincent Kompany most likely to be rotated out having only just been phased into match fitness after several lay-offs.
Oleksandr Zinchenko could also return at left back in place of Danilo, and Bernardo Silva will deputise for the injured Fernandinho.
Prediction: Arsenal 2 Manchester City 2
Written by Sam Hanys.
