
This week’s Super Sunday headliner has huge implications at the top of the table, as Arsenal look to stay in touch with Liverpool while Man City attempt to keep their faint hopes of a fifth consecutive title alive.
The title race threatened to get away from Arsenal when they went down to 10 men in the first half of their trip to Wolverhampton Wanderers a week ago, but the playing field was evened with 20 minutes to go as Joao Gomes saw red. Riccardo Calafiori found the winner, prompting Mikel Arteta to praise his side’s courage, spirit, and intelligence after the game.
Myles Lewis-Skelly’s red card was rescinded, but the Gunners have been charged for failing to control their players in the aftermath of the teenager’s dismissal.
Arsenal notched a come-from-behind victory at Girona on Wednesday, securing a third-place finish in the Champions League group phase and continuing their positive momentum heading into Sunday.
Manchester City secured their passage into the Champions League playoff round thanks to a second-half rally which overturned Club Brugge’s lead.
It was the second time in five days that Pep Guardiola’s side came from 1-0 down to win 3-1, as they did the same to Chelsea on Saturday to leapfrog the Blues and move into fourth place.
The Cityzens have won six of their last eight matches in all competitions and appear to be over the worst of their troubles, but issues remain especially in defence. They have conceded six goals in their last two away matches: four at Paris Saint-Germain, and two at Brentford.
The rivalry between the two clubs kicked into another gear at the Etihad Stadium in September, as the card count hit double figures and Erling Haaland told Arteta to ‘stay humble’ after John Stones rescued a point for City in stoppage time.
Leandro Trossard was sent off on the stroke of half-time that afternoon, leaving the Gunners incensed as it was the second time in the space of a month that one of their players had been shown a second yellow for kicking the ball away.
That 2-2 draw was the most dramatic match between the clubs for a couple of seasons. The previous affairs were relatively low-key.
Guardiola has had Arsenal’s number for most of his reign in Manchester, but that has shifted slightly recently in terms of H2H results.
City only managed one shot on target when they last paid Arsenal a visit.
In anticipation of a tight opening 45 minutes, the best bet for this fixture is for the first half to have under 12.5 shots and under 6 corners.
Fixtures between this version of Arsenal and Man City are notoriously cagey, particularly in the opening exchanges. Even the first period at the Etihad earlier this season was tight, despite three goals being scored. There were only nine shots and four corners in that half.
The previous H2H before that, which was also massive in the context of the title race, saw just seven shots and two corners in the first half, before opening up slightly in the second.
Under 12.5 shots and under 6 corners in the first half has landed comfortably in each of the last seven meetings between the sides in all competitions, dating back to January 2023.
Arteta’s pragmatism divides opinion but he is unlikely to veer away from it in such a crucial game. City have had their issues at the back and will be happy to avoid an end-to-end encounter in North London.
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