Arsenal’s recent woes mean the Premier League title is in City’s hands heading into Wednesday’s bout at the Etihad, and it feels like the Gunners have got to win in Manchester to have any chance of lifting their first league title in 20 years.
How to watch Man City vs Arsenal on TV
When is kick-off? Wednesday 26 April
What time is kick-off? 20:00 (BST)
Where is it played? Etihad Stadium
TV channel/live stream? BT Sport 1 (UK), Peacock (US), fuboTV (Canada)
Referee? Michael Oliver
> More: Manchester City vs Arsenal Live broadcast listings (TV, live streaming)
Manchester City vs Arsenal preview
Arsenal are currently at the top of the Premier League but have endured a few potentially fatal stutters in recent weeks. The Gunners were stunned by Southampton’s resilience in a 3-3 draw over the weekend and have a point to prove in this fixture.
Manchester City, on the other hand, are in second place in the league table at the moment and have been in excellent form over the past month. The Cityzens eased past Sheffield United by a 3-0 margin in their previous game and will look to achieve a similar result this week.
Manchester City vs Arsenal Head-to-Head and Key Numbers
- Arsenal have a good historical record against Manchester City and have won 98 out of the 207 matches played between the two teams, as opposed to Manchester City’s 64 victories.
- Manchester City have scored all six of their home games against Arsenal under Pep Guardiola in the Premier League and have scored 17 goals in these matches.
- Arsenal have lost their last 11 games against Manchester City in the Premier League – their longest such streak against a single opponent in the competition.
- Arsenal have scored only three goals in their last 10 Premier League matches against Manchester City and have failed to score in seven of these games.
- Manchester City have won eight of their last nine games in the Premier League and are on a six-game winning streak in the competition at the moment.
> More: Manchester City vs Arsenal historical statistics
Team News
Man City head into Wednesday’s crunch clash with an almost clean bill of health, but Guardiola will be sweating over the fitness of Nathan Ake – who scored the winner in January’s FA Cup success over Arsenal – as he nurses a thigh injury.
The Catalonian coach was not shy about ringing the changes for the FA Cup semi and will recall the likes of John Stones, Ruben Dias, Rodri and Kevin De Bruyne to the XI here, while Mahrez’s hat-trick against the Blades could see the Algerian play his way into a start too.
The irrepressible Erling Braut Haaland sits on 32 goals in the top flight and needs just one more to break the record for a 38-game season, while a seventh hat-trick in Man City colours would see the 22-year-old enter a league of his own in the Premier League – Andy Cole and Alan Shearer currently lead the way with 34 strikes in a 42-game campaign.
Arsenal also have a key defensive concern to worry about, as William Saliba continues to make slow progress in his recovery from a back injury, and the French centre-back will miss Wednesday’s game and potentially the rest of the season – the worst possible news for Gooners as the maligned Rob Holding comes face-to-face with Haaland.
Takehiro Tomiyasu and Mohamed Elneny will also watch on from the sidelines as they rehabilitate from season-ending knee surgeries, but Granit Xhaka should fight off the illness that ruled him out of the draw with Southampton; the ineffective Fabio Vieira will certainly make way if so.
Oleksandr Zinchenko and Gabriel Jesus are both in line to start against their former club, while Gabriel Martinelli will break the record for the most goals by a Brazilian player in a single Premier League season with a 16th strike here – the 21-year-old’s current tally of 15 is equal to Roberto Firmino’s 2017-18 haul.
Manchester City possible starting lineup:
Ederson; Akanji, Dias, Laporte; Stones, Rodri; Mahrez, Gundogan, De Bruyne, Grealish; Haaland
Arsenal possible starting lineup:
Ramsdale; White, Holding, Gabriel, Zinchenko; Xhaka, Partey; Saka, Odegaard, Martinelli; Jesus
