EPL 2018-19: Manchester City vs Arsenal- Match preview and prediction
What's the story
A high-profile Premier League match is scheduled for today when Manchester City will take on Arsenal at the Etihad Stadium. While Pep Guardiola's City are third on the league table with 56 points from 24 matches, Unai Emery's Arsenal are fifth with 47 points from as many matches. Will Arsenal manage to emerge with a win, or will City be too hot to handle?
Manchester City
Are Manchester City ready for the encounter?
Manchester City are coming off a shock defeat at the hands of Newcastle United, and will want a victory at any cost to close in on table-toppers Liverpool. With Arsenal, Everton and Chelsea lined up within a week, City have a mountain to climb. Vincent Kompany and Benjamin Mendy will remain absent from the proceedings, whereas Ederson will be fit for tonight.
Arsenal
Will Arsenal rise to the challenge?
Captain Laurent Koscielny has been training with the team after reports have confirmed his injury suffered against Manchester United was not serious. Arsenal do have injury concerns in the form of Danny Welbeck, Sokratis Papastathopoulos (ankle), Hector Bellerin and Rob Holding (knee injuries). New recruit Dennis Suarez will most probably feature in the match, while Henrikh Mkhitaryan might be used as a substitute.
Facts
Some interesting facts to gear you up for the match
Manchester City last won four consecutive first division league matches against Arsenal between 1935 and 1937, a record they can equal with a win tomorrow. In their last 11 matches against City at the Etihad Stadium, the Gunners have lost seven. In their last nine matches in the EPL, City have lost four. Before this, they had lost four in their previous 72 matches.
Key players
Who will be the key players for tomorrow's encounter?
For City, Aguero will be the main man to score the goals, while the likes of Sterling and Sane will be a constant threat to the defensive line-up of Gunners. Their mid-field will be handled by Kevin De Bruyne and David Silva. Arsenal will depend on Aubameyang and Lacazette to cause early upsets, and Ozil will be the key in creating goal-scoring chances.
TV listing
Predicted XI and TV listing
Manchester City: Ederson, Walker, Stones, Laporte, Danilo, Fernandinho, Kevin De Bruyne, Silva, Sterling, Mane, Aguero. Arsenal: Leno, Monreal, Koscielny, Mustafi, Maitland-Niles, Torreira, Suarez, Iwobi, Ozil, Aubameyang, Lacazette. The match is scheduled to start at 10:00 PM, and can be watched on Star Sports 1/HD. It can also be live-streamed on Hotstar.
Prediction
Who can win this difficult encounter?
It is a no-brainer that City are the clear favorites. The defending champions have a host of in-form talented players who can be regarded as some of Europe's finest. Arsenal have too many injury concerns to be able to put up a strong resistance, but Aubameyang and Lacazette should go for the early goals. City can win the match 3-1.
Fantasy XI
How can the Fantasy XI look for the match?
It will be better to choose a 4-4-2 formation for the Fantasy XI while keeping Ederson as the goal-keeper, and Walker and Monreal as the right and left backs respectively. John Stones and Koscielny will be the ideal center-backs. Suarez and Sane can be the wingers while De Bruyne and Ozil can be central mid-fielders. Aguero and Aubameyang are ideal forwards for the match.