Manchester City lock horns with Arsenal at the Etihad Stadium in the biggest game for matchday 5 in the 2024/25 English Premier League season.
The Cityzens welcome Mikel Arteta’s side to the North Western part of England for what is expected to be an immense battle between two sides gunning for the league crown.
Preview: Manchester City
Manchester City come into this game with a 100% win record in the Premier League, having won all of their previous 4 matches in the division.
Pep Guardiola’s side commenced the campaign with a 2-0 win over Chelsea, before recording a smashing 4-1 home win over Ipswich Town.
Manchester City afterward battered West Ham United 3-1, before narrowly beating Brentford 2-1.
Fascinatingly, Erling Haaland has been on the scoresheet in all their matches this season, with the Norwegian striker bagging consecutive hat-tricks alongside a brace after scoring a goal in their first match of the 2024/25 season.
Haaland was on the verge of making history against Brentford on September 14, 2024, by becoming the first player to score a hat-trick in three successive matches; unfortunately, he failed to achieve that feat, as he produced just 2 goals in the game and had one of his effort against the Bees hit the bar in the second period.
Coming into this game, they lost their 100% start to the season in all competitions, but kept their unbeaten status, as they played out a 0-0 draw with Inter Milan at the Etihad Stadium in their opening game of the 2024/25 UEFA Champions League season.
Erling Haaland also failed to find the back of the net for the first time this season, as the Nerazzuri kept him quiet throughout the game.
The Cityzens will be aiming to return to winning ways when they trade tackles with Arsenal on September 22, 2024.
Preview: Arsenal
Meanwhile, the Gunners head into the game against Manchester City with an unbeaten status but without a 100% record, having played out a 1-1 draw with Brighton on August 31, 2024.
They come into this encounter with much confidence, having picked up a morale-boosting 1-0 away win over neighbors Tottenham Hotspur.
Mikel Arteta’s side started the campaign with a 2-0 victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers, before identically beating Aston Villa.
Before the clash against Manchester City, Arsenal would square up against Atalanta in Bergamo on Thursday, September 19, 2024, to begin their UEFA Champions League outing for the 2024/25 season.
It will be interesting to see where the pendulum would swing in that fixture and it could provide a pointer into how the game on Sunday, September 22, 2024, against Manchester City could pan out.
Can Arsenal Beat Manchester City?
Arsenal will also be beaming with belief, knowing that they didn’t lose to Pep Guardiola’s side in their two meetings last season, as they defeated the Cityzens 1-0 at the Emirates, before playing out a 0-0 draw in the reverse fixture.
The Gunners win last season over Manchester City was their first league win since December 2015, when the former defeated the latter by 2-1 at the Emirates.
Pep Guardiola Vs Mikel Arteta
The incoming encounter also pits boss Pep Guardiola against his former apprentice Mikel Arteta.
Arteta worked as Guardiola’s assistant between July 2016 and December 2019, before becoming manager of Arsenal in December 2019.
Additionally, the pair have met on 9 previous occasions, with Pep Guardiola triumphing 7 times, while Mikel Arteta has won just once. The battle between the duo has also ended in a draw once.
Manchester City Vs Arsenal (Head-to-head)
In the last 39 meetings between both clubs, Manchester City have won 21 times, while Arsenal were victorious on 10 different occasions. Both sides also played out a draw 8 different times within that run of matches.
Team News For Manchester City
Kevin De Bruyne is an injury concern and it is uncertain if he will feature against Arsenal, having been withdrawn at half-time during the Cityzens clash with Inter Milan.
Oscar Bobb (lower leg) and Nathan Ake (hamstring) will also play no part in the game due to the highlighted injuries.
Team News For Arsenal
Riccardo Calafiori is back in contention to start against Manchester City after missing Arsenal’s clash with Tottenham Hotspur due to fitness issues.
However, captain Martin Odegaard is unavailable for action, as he is expected to be sidelined for a lengthy period due to an ankle injury.
Mikel Merino is also a long-term absentee due to a shoulder problem, while Kieran Tierney, Takehiro Tomiyasu, and Oleksandr Zinchenko are also dealing with injuries.
Probable Lineup For Manchester City Against Arsenal (4-2-3-1): Ederson; Walker, Dias, Akanji, Gvardiol, Rodri, Kovacic, Bernardo, Foden, Doku, Haaland.
Probable Lineup For Arsenal Against Manchester City (4-3-3): Raya; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Timber; Partey, Rice, Saka, Martinelli, Havertz, Jesus
Prediction: Manchester City 1-0 Arsenal
Kick-off Time And Date: 04:30 PM, Sunday, September 22, 2024.
