The Premier League wraps up before the international break with a big match between last season’s top two teams. Arsenal faces off defending champions Manchester City at the Emirates Stadium.
Although Arsenal had a strong season last time, they lost the title race to City. When these two teams meet, Arsenal usually doesn’t fare well. Team actually lost 12 consecutive games against City in the Premier League, which is their longest losing streak against any team in the league’s history!
The Arsenal vs. Man City football rivalry dates back to 1893, spanning an impressive 209 total meetings in the past. Historically, the Gunners have the upper hand in this fixture with 99 victories to their name. However, when it comes to recent Premier League encounters, Man City holds a significantly better record.
The Premier League table is taking a familiar shape, and Arsenal is just one point behind City as they head into kick off. Arsenal’s recent 4-0 win against Bournemouth in their last league match was quite impressive. Although they’ve struggled at the Emirates this season, Arsenal has maintained an undefeated record in the Premier League, securing five wins and two draws in their seven matches so far.
Form
Nonetheless, they faced their initial defeat of the season during the midweek when they fell 2-1 to Lens in the UEFA Champions League. To make things worse, Arsenal’s winger, Saka, is uncertain for the upcoming match after sustaining an injury during their Champions League loss to Lens. Additionally, Gabriel Martinelli is likely to be absent for a sixth consecutive game due to a hamstring problem.
Saka has been in good form, scoring in Arsenal’s last two home games against City. However, if he’s unavailable for this match, it could be a positive for the away side. Despite City’s strong record against Arsenal in the league, they did suffer a setback earlier this season when they lost to Arsenal in the Community Shield in August. This result might still be on Pep Guardiola‘s mind. So, Guardiola must have felt a sense of relief as his team won RB Leipzig with 3-1 in the UEFA Champions League this week, putting an end to an unusual series of two consecutive losses, both of which occurred during their away games.
On the Manchester City side, Rodri won’t be available as he serves the final match of a three-game suspension. However, Silva is back in the squad after his recent return, while John Stones and Kevin de Bruyne have been ruled out for the upcoming game.
Arsenal fans might take comfort the fact that City could face back-to-back away defeats in the Premier League. A scenario they haven’t experienced in Premier League since February. Worth noting: two-game losing streak began with a 2-1 defeat and concluded with a 1-0 loss against Tottenham.
Prediction
Despite Arsenal’s strong start to the season, bookmakers have still given Manchester City the favorite role in the upcoming match. Odds for Manchester City to win: 7/5.