The lineups of Manchester City and Arsenal are known for their mutual cracking in the Premier League. Nathan Aké is not there for the home team. The Dutchman is still experiencing too much discomfort from the hamstring injury he sustained in the Champions League match with Bayern Munich. The match starts at 9 p.m. Dutch time and can be seen on via play.
City is clearly in the winning mood. Pep Guardiola’s team has won its last seven Premier League games and opponents still have no answer to the Erling Braut Haaland phenomenon. In addition, do the Citizens excellent against Arsenal: the last eleven Premier League games against the Gunners were won. It is the longest running series of defeats against an opponent in the history of the Londoners. City is therefore the only opponent in the Premier League that Arteta has not yet managed to beat.
After the draws against Liverpool (2-2), West Ham United (2-2) and Southampton (3-3), Arsenal must win against City to keep the league title in their own hands. In recent weeks, the lack of strong holder William Saliba has become palpable and the Frenchman is also not present against City. Just like him, Takehiro Tomiyasu and Mohamed Elneny are also missing, while Granit Xhaka is not one hundred percent fit after being ill. Despite the series of draws in recent weeks, Arsenal are unbeaten in their last ten Premier League games – the current longest series of any team in the Premier League.
Guardiola has few surprises in store. He does make a number of changes compared to last weekend’s league game against Sheffield United (3-0 win). Then Stefan Ortega was under the bar and there were starting places for Riyad Mahrez and Aymeric Laporta. They are now back on the couch. At Arsenal, Holding remains at the heart of the defense due to Saliba’s injury. Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko return to the club where they were still under contract last year.
Manchester City line-up: Ederson; Walker, Dias, Akanji, Stones; Rodri Gundogan, De Bruyne; Bernardo Silva, Grealish, Haaland.
Arsenal line-up: Ramsdale; White, Holding, Gabriel, Zinchenko; Partey, Xhaka, Odegaard; Saka, Martinelli, Jesus.
| No. | Team | m | W | G | v | +/- | Pnt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arsenal | 32 | 23 | 6 | 3 | 43 | 75 |
| 2 | Manchester City | 30 | 22 | 4 | 4 | 50 | 70 |
| 3 | Newcastle United | 31 | 16 | 11 | 4 | 29 | 59 |
| 4 | Manchester United | 30 | 18 | 5 | 7 | 9 | 59 |
| 5 | Aston Villa | 33 | 16 | 6 | 11 | 5 | 54 |
| 6 | Tottenham Hotspur | 32 | 16 | 5 | 11 | 7 | 53 |
| 7 | Liverpool | 31 | 14 | 8 | 9 | 21 | 50 |
| 8 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 29 | 14 | 7 | 8 | 17 | 49 |
| 9 | Fulham | 32 | 13 | 6 | 13 | 1 | 45 |
| 10 | Brentford | 32 | 10 | 14 | 8 | 5 | 44 |
| 11 | Chelsea | 31 | 10 | 9 | 12 | -3 | 39 |
| 12 | Crystal Palace | 33 | 9 | 10 | 14 | -11 | 37 |
| 13 | Wolverhampton W. | 33 | 10 | 7 | 16 | -15 | 37 |
| 14 | West Ham United | 31 | 9 | 7 | 15 | -8 | 34 |
| 15 | AFC Bournemouth | 32 | 9 | 6 | 17 | -32 | 33 |
| 16 | Leeds United | 33 | 7 | 9 | 17 | -21 | 30 |
| 17 | Leicester City | 33 | 8 | 5 | 20 | -13 | 29 |
| 18 | Everton | 32 | 6 | 10 | 16 | -22 | 28 |
| 19 | Nottingham Forest | 32 | 6 | 9 | 17 | -33 | 27 |
| 20 | Southampton | 32 | 6 | 6 | 20 | -29 | 24 |