Premier League 2022-23: Manchester City vs Arsenal: Predicted lineup, injury news, head-to-head, telecast

The English Top flight has set its stage for a grandstand finish.

The gruelling title race of the English Premier League is about to draw it's curtains down as league leaders Arsenal travel to Etihad Stadium to face 2nd placed Manchester City in what could be a title deciding match.

Manchester City are in a rich vein of form and are showing no signs of slowing down in their pursuit for the Premier League title. They have won eight of their last nine Premier League games, including their last six in a row. After blowing away Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champions League by an aggregate score of 4-1 and sealing a spot in the semi finals, they have also went unbeaten in the FA Cup and conceded zero goals on their way to the final to face against Manchester United.

The treble is well and surely on for Guardiola's men and there could not be a more promising time for a fixture of these gigantic proportions. City can take confidence from the fact that they have beaten Arsenal twice this season already, 3-1 in the Premier League and 1-0 in the FA Cup.

Arsenal seemed to have faultered at the most crucial stage of the season. Three consecutive draws in the Premier League has cut their lead down to five points having played two games more than Manchester City. A thrilling encounter against bottom side Southampton saw The Gunners fight back and clinch a 3-3 draw in the dire stages of the match as Odegaard and Saka scored in the 88th and 90th minute to salvage a point for Arteta's men.

However, Arsenal have lost their last 11 Premier League meetings against Manchester City, their longest losing streak against an opponent in their league history. However, Arsenal officially remain the best-performing away side in the Premier League this season with 36 points from 16 games on the road. With six games to go in the season and the title race going down to the wire, The Gunners will have to pull off a humongous performance in order to deny the Cityzens a potential treble.

Kick-Off:

Wednesday, 26-04-2023, 07:00 PM (GMT)

Thursday, 27-04-2023, 12:30 AM (IST)

Manchester City Form (All Competitions): W-D-W-W-W

Arsenal Form (All Competitions): D-D-D-W-W

Player to Watch Out

Manchester City: Kevin De Bruyne

De Bruyne is a naturally gifted footballer with superb touch and technique that marks him out as one of the best playmakers in Europe. Often described as a "complete midfielder", he plays a riskier game, always seeking to impose himself on a match. With the ability to string close range passes and delving out of torrid situations, he also has that vision to deliver defence spilitting passes which might be a concern for Holding and Gabriel. He has 15 assists in his name in the Premier League this season.

Arsenal: Gabriel Jesus

A talented and versatile forward, Jesus is capable of playing in several attacking positions: he has been deployed as a center forward, as an out-and-out striker, as a false 9, as an inside forward, as a winger or as an attacking midfielder. He has 9 goals and 6 assists in the Premier League this campaign but can the former City man come back to haunt the Etihad? We'll have to wait and watch.

Match Facts

Manchester City have won all six of their Premier League home games under Pep Guardiola against Arsenal by an aggregate score of 17-3.

Arsenal have just scored three goals in their last 10 Premier League games against Manchester City, failing to score on seven occasions. They had only failed to score in six of their previous 37 against The Cityzens in the competition.

Injury and Team News

The only legitimate concern for Pep Guardiola remains to be Nathan Ake who is most likely going to miss out on this fixture due to a thigh injury.He rested the likes of Kevin De Bruyne, John Stones and Ruben Dias against Sheffield United in the weekend who will be gunning to get their socks up in this game and prove their mettle. Riyad Mahrez might also make his way into the first team after an impressive show of character against The Blades in the FA Cup semi finals while Erling Haaland can become the all time top goal scorer in a single Premier League season if he manages to score a hat-trick and succumb the hopes of the Gunners.

Arsenal have failed to keep a clean sheet since a 3-0 victory over Fulham last month and it has been six matches since then. With William Saliba sidelined due to a back injury, the return of Granit Xhaka in the midfield will be a massive boost for them as the likes of Jorginho and Fabio Vieira haven't really showcased their talent in The Gunner's shirt yet.

Takehiro Tomiyasu and Mohamed Elneny are out for the season with knee injuries and the comparatively thinner squad of Arteta has been questioned by many as he has lesser options to rotate in these crucial situations. Gabriel Martinelli, Saka, Odegaard and Gabriel Jesus have been among the goals but a much more resolute performance at the backline is needed by Holding and Gabriel if Arteta's men are to keep City at bay in their backyard.

Head-to-head Stats

Matches – 31

Manchester City– 18

Draws – 5

Arsenal– 8

Predicted Lineup

Manchester City Predicted lineup (3-2-4-1): 

Ederson; Akanji, Dias, Laporte; Stones, Rodri; Mahrez, Gundogan, De Bruyne, Grealish; Haaland

Arsenal Predicted lineup (4-2-3-1): 

Ramsdale; White, Holding, Gabriel, Zinchenko; Xhaka, Partey; Saka, Odegaard, Martinelli; Jesus

Prediction for Manchester City vs Arsenal

It looks like the wind has turned towards the blue side of England and City can sense the inevitable almost happening. Both the teams will be gracing the pitch with their own fate in their own hands, but as per the recent history and the form of both the clubs across all competitions Guardiola's men look too dominant and have much calibre in their ranks to assume control of the title race even though it is at the most dire point of the season. But that's what Champions do, isn't it?

Prediction: Manchester City 3-1 Arsenal.

Telecast

India – Star Sports Select 1 and Star Sports Select 2, Disney+ Hotstar.

UK – BT Sport, BT Sports App

US – NBC, USA Network.

Nigeria – SportLemon.tv.