Man City vs. Arsenal
Venue: Etihad Stadium
Kick off: 5:30PMManchester City have another chance to put some pressure on Premier League leaders Liverpool when they take on Arsenal at the Etihad Stadium this evening.
The Citizens suffered a 2-1 loss at Newcastle United in their last outing and cannot afford to drop more points against their top-four challenging opponents.
The midweek round of Premier League fixtures was supposed to be all about whether Liverpool would hold their nerve with Man City breathing down their neck.
Venue: Etihad Stadium
Kick off: 5:30PMManchester City have another chance to put some pressure on Premier League leaders Liverpool when they take on Arsenal at the Etihad Stadium this evening.
The Citizens suffered a 2-1 loss at Newcastle United in their last outing and cannot afford to drop more points against their top-four challenging opponents.
The midweek round of Premier League fixtures was supposed to be all about whether Liverpool would hold their nerve with Man City breathing down their neck.
The champions had the advantage of playing 24 hours earlier in arguably an easier fixture on paper, yet the Reds ended Wednesday night another point clear of their title rivals.
Tuesday’s loss at St James’ Park was made all the more surprising by the fact that Sergio Aguero had opened the scoring inside the opening minute.
Tuesday’s loss at St James’ Park was made all the more surprising by the fact that Sergio Aguero had opened the scoring inside the opening minute.
From that point on, though, Pep Guardiola’s men seemed to take the three points from granted and they made the trip back south with a fourth league defeat of the season to their name.
City had won eight matches in a row heading into that Newcastle clash, scoring 33 goals and conceding just two.
City had won eight matches in a row heading into that Newcastle clash, scoring 33 goals and conceding just two.
In fact, since Roberto Firmino temporarily restored parity in the league meeting between the Citizens and Liverpool on January 3, Guardiola’s men had scored 30 goals without reply.
Then came goals from Solomon Rondon and Matt Ritchie in midweek, crushing that momentum the champions had built up over the past month.
Then came goals from Solomon Rondon and Matt Ritchie in midweek, crushing that momentum the champions had built up over the past month.
Now City must quickly pick themselves up, as they take on Arsenal and Chelsea at the Etihad Stadium in the space of a week, either side of a rearranged trip to Everton.
The fixtures may not be kind for Guardiola, who admits that his side cannot afford to drop more points if they are to overhaul Liverpool, but they do at least have the opportunity to close the gap on top spot to two points ahead of the Reds’ trip to West Ham United on Monday night.
City have already dropped more points than in the entirety of 2017-18, albeit in a season when they broke countless records in racking up 100 points, and they no longer seem the ruthless force they were 12 months ago.
On the other hand, Tuesday’s 2-1 victory over Cardiff City marked the first time that Arsenal have won back-to-back league matches since overcoming Bournemouth and Tottenham Hotspur as November turned to December.
Unai Emery’s side have lacked consistency in recent weeks, losing away to Southampton and West Ham United, heavily to Liverpool and drawing against Brighton & Hove Albion and Manchester United. A United side, it should be noted, that were being managed by Jose Mourinho at the time.
Yet a well-earned 2-0 win over Chelsea and the slender victory over Cardiff in the space of 10 days, either side of an FA Cup loss to Man United, has lifted the Gunners into fourth place. Goal difference may be all that separates them and Chelsea, but it is now advantage Arsenal with 14 games to go.
Arsenal, not for the first time under Emery, struggled to get going in a poor first-half showing against Cardiff, requiring a half-time reshuffle with the introduction of Alex Iwobi to finally take control of the match and earn all three points.
Victory at the Etihad Stadium would certainly send out a loud and clear message, but Arsenal’s record against fellow top-six sides in poor in comparison to this weekend’s opponents.Man City possible XI: Ederson, Walker, Stones, Laporte, Mendy, De Bruyne, Fernandinho, Silva, Sterling, Aguero, Sane.
Arsenal possible XI: Leno, Mustafi, Koscielny, Monreal, Maitland-Niles, Torreira, Xhaka, Guendouzi, Kolasinac, Lacazette, Aubameyang.
The fixtures may not be kind for Guardiola, who admits that his side cannot afford to drop more points if they are to overhaul Liverpool, but they do at least have the opportunity to close the gap on top spot to two points ahead of the Reds’ trip to West Ham United on Monday night.
City have already dropped more points than in the entirety of 2017-18, albeit in a season when they broke countless records in racking up 100 points, and they no longer seem the ruthless force they were 12 months ago.
On the other hand, Tuesday’s 2-1 victory over Cardiff City marked the first time that Arsenal have won back-to-back league matches since overcoming Bournemouth and Tottenham Hotspur as November turned to December.
Unai Emery’s side have lacked consistency in recent weeks, losing away to Southampton and West Ham United, heavily to Liverpool and drawing against Brighton & Hove Albion and Manchester United. A United side, it should be noted, that were being managed by Jose Mourinho at the time.
Yet a well-earned 2-0 win over Chelsea and the slender victory over Cardiff in the space of 10 days, either side of an FA Cup loss to Man United, has lifted the Gunners into fourth place. Goal difference may be all that separates them and Chelsea, but it is now advantage Arsenal with 14 games to go.
Arsenal, not for the first time under Emery, struggled to get going in a poor first-half showing against Cardiff, requiring a half-time reshuffle with the introduction of Alex Iwobi to finally take control of the match and earn all three points.
Victory at the Etihad Stadium would certainly send out a loud and clear message, but Arsenal’s record against fellow top-six sides in poor in comparison to this weekend’s opponents.Man City possible XI: Ederson, Walker, Stones, Laporte, Mendy, De Bruyne, Fernandinho, Silva, Sterling, Aguero, Sane.
Arsenal possible XI: Leno, Mustafi, Koscielny, Monreal, Maitland-Niles, Torreira, Xhaka, Guendouzi, Kolasinac, Lacazette, Aubameyang.
