The upcoming Premier League match between Manchester City and Arsenal is being touted as a title decider. The current league leaders, Arsenal, will travel to the Etihad to face second-placed Manchester City in a game that will have major implications for both teams. If Arsenal win, they will extend their lead at the top of the table to eight points, and even if City secure victories in all their games in hand, it will still be in the Gunners’ hands. However, if City win, they will be a step closer to a fifth title in six seasons and a precious treble. A draw would be Arsenal’s fourth in a row, slowing down their title charge and putting City in pole position to overtake them before the close of play on May 28.
City won the reverse fixture at the Emirates 3-1 in February, with goals from Kevin De Bruyne, Jack Grealish, and Erling Haaland. Arsenal will be desperate to inflict a similar away performance on the dominant force that is Manchester City, who have won 17 of their 19 home league games. However, the history books do not make pretty reading for the Gunners. City has won all six of their Premier League home games against Arsenal under Pep Guardiola by an aggregate score of 17-3. Arsenal has lost their last 11 Premier League games against Man City, their longest losing streak against an opponent in their league history, and have scored just three goals in their last ten Premier League meetings.
City is on fire at the moment, winning 11 of their last 12 games in all competitions. They have not lost since a 1-0 defeat at Tottenham in February, their only defeat in 20 matches and breezed past Sheffield United on Saturday to reach the FA Cup final. Arsenal, on the other hand, has been disappointing in recent weeks.
The team news suggests that William Saliba is set to miss the clash for Arsenal as he continues to recover from a back injury, and could even be out for the rest of the season. Takehiro Tomiyasu and Mohamed Elneny are long-term absentees, but Granit Xhaka should be back in contention to face City after missing the Southampton draw with illness. City will be without Nathan Ake, who is out with a hamstring injury. De Bruyne, Ederson, Ruben Dias, Rodri, and John Stones all sat out of the Wembley win and should come back in.
The star men for City are Haaland, who has matched the 38-game Premier League goalscoring record with 32, and De Bruyne, who has six goals and three assists in ten Premier League games against the Gunners. For Arsenal, all eyes will be on Rob Holding to see how he can handle Haaland. Bukayo Saka has scored the Gunners’ last two goals against City, although both have come at the Emirates.
The match will take place on Wednesday, April 26, at 8 pm BST at the Etihad. It will be shown live on BT Sport 1 in the UK, and viewers can live stream the action from the BT Sport app. The odds for the match are Man City – 4/7, Draw – 16/5, Arsenal – 9/2.