Premier League title favourites Manchester City and Arsenal square off in a mouthwatering early season encounter at the Etihad on Sunday afternoon.
Pep Guardiola’s star-studded side have pipped the Gunners to the title across each of the last two seasons, with their most recent success seeing them scoop a record-breaking fourth top-flight crown in succession.
The Citizens have picked up from where they left off last term, winning each of their opening four Premier League games of the campaign, the most recent of which against Brentford brought up by Bet Builder.
However, City did stumble for the first time this season in midweek as they were held to a goalless draw by Inter Milan in their Champions League opener.
Meanwhile, Arsenal also kicked off their continental campaign with a 0-0 draw against Italian opposition, with goalkeeper David Raya's heroics ensuring they picked up a point away at Atalanta.
That stalemate came off the back of a hard-fought 1-0 win away at arch-rivals Tottenham last Sunday, on an afternoon where one of my player props picks landed.
How the bookies view it: Sky Blues to land first blow
Manchester City are 4/5 favourites on Betano to land an early season blow in the title race by surging five points clear of their rivals at the summit of the standings.
Last season’s corresponding fixture ended in a drab 0-0 draw, and another stalemate on Sunday can be backed at 5/2 (Betano) while an Arsenal triumph is trading at 10/3 (Betano).
Head to head: Citizens struggling to out-gun Gunners
Despite winning last season’s Premier League title, Man City picked up just one point from their two top-flight tussles with Arsenal last term.
The Gunners also came out on top in last season's Community Shield against the Citizens, meaning that they are currently unbeaten in three matches against Guardiola’s team.
Players to watch: Haaland back on the goal hunt
Man City goal machine Erling Haaland failed to score for the first time this season in the aforementioned 0-0 draw with Inter in midweek. The Norwegian sharpshooter is 11/10 on Bet 365 to notch against Arsenal on Sunday.
Due to suspension, Declan Rice missed Arsenal's 1-0 win at Spurs last Sunday. The England international committed two fouls in his last Premier League outing, and pairing up a solitary Rice misdemeanour here alongside a foul from Man City's Rodri makes plenty of appeal at 10/11 on Bet 365.
Predicted line-ups
Man City winger Oscar Bobb will be out until the end of the year with a leg fracture, while Nathan Ake is not expected to be back in the fold until after the next international break due to muscle injury.
Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard has been ruled out for the foreseeable future after sustaining an ankle injury during Norway’s Nations League match against Austria earlier this month.
Man City: Ederson; Lewis, Dias, Akanji, Gvardiol; Rodri, Gundogan; Bernardo, De Bruyne, Doku; Haaland
Arsenal: Raya; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Timber; Jorginho, Partey, Rice; Saka, Havertz, Martinelli
Anything else catch the eye?
With Man City expected to dictate the tempo of the game on Sunday, backing the hosts to hit over 5.5 corners stands out at 10/11 on UniBet.
City covered the 6+ flag-kick line when failing to break down Arsenal’s stubborn defence in last season's corresponding fixture, not to mention they have reached double digits on the corner front in each of their last three league games.
It’s also worth noting that Arsenal have conceded seven corners in each of their last two top-flight outings against Brighton and Tottenham, respectively. This further suggests that six or more corners should be within range for Man City.
This English Premier League match between Manchester City and Arsenal will be played on Sep 22, 2024 and kick off at 16:30. Check below for our tipsters best Manchester City vs Arsenal prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
