Manchester City vs Arsenal predictions: Stalemate expected at the Etihad
- Manchester City have enjoyed a five-game unbeaten start to this season
- Arsenal avoided defeat in their two league games against City last season
- Recommended bet: Draw
Manchester City and Arsenal will look to claim the early bragging rights in the race for this year's Premier League title when they meet at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
Pre-season predictions suggested it could be a two-horse race for the title, and while it is very early days, all signs are that the two teams will fight it out for a third year in a row.
Both teams were held to goalless draws in the Champions League in midweek, with Inter Milan impressing on the road at the Etihad Stadium, while Arsenal secured a point away at Atalanta.
Team News
City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne is a doubt due to a groin injury that he picked up while playing in midweek against Inter, while Nathan Ake is expected to miss another six weeks with a hamstring injury and Oscar Bobb is not expected to return until 2025.
Arsenal midfielder Martin Odegaard is still sidelined until November with an ankle injury, while Mikel Merino is not expected to return until late October after dislocating his shoulder in training.
A knee injury will keep Takehiro Tomiyasu out until the end of the month, while Oleksandr Zinchenko is a doubt with a calf problem.
The stats
City have won all four of their league games so far, scoring 11 goals in the process.
Striker Erling Haaland has scored nine of those, with eight coming in three matches with the help of successive hat-tricks against Ipswich and West Ham.
Pep Guardiola's men are unbeaten at home since November 2022, but Arsenal avoided defeat against them in both league games last season.
None of the last three meetings between the two clubs have contained more than two goals.
Prediction
Neither City nor Arsenal will want to give the other team an inch in the race for the title, and the level of importance on these games has made them close, nerve-racking affairs.
The most recent clash between these two at the Etihad finished 0-0, and it is tough to see either side winning with ease.
Odegaard and De Bruyne's absence will be a big miss for both teams as they provide so much creativity, and realistically, neither side are prepared to risk it all in case they lose.
A draw at this stage of the season means neither side lose any ground, and they can live to fight another day until their next encounter.
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