On Wednesday night, Manchester City will host Arsenal at the Etihad Stadium in what is expected to be one of the most exciting games of the Premier League. The home team, Manchester City, has recently won their FA Cup game against Sheffield United, while Arsenal failed to gain points in the title race in a 3-3 draw with Southampton. Manchester City can take control of the Premier League title race if they win against Arsenal. Both teams have their fate in their hands.
Manchester City is still fighting on three fronts as they have been winning against every opponent they faced this season. They are now unbeaten in 16 successive matches across all tournaments and have won 13 of them. Manchester City has played 12 games at the Etihad in 2023, winning all 12 of them except for a 1-0 FA Cup win over Arsenal.
Arsenal, on the other hand, has been showing signs of frailty in their recent matches. They let successive two-goal leads slip in draws with West Ham United and Liverpool, which is the first time ever in the Premier League. Defensive concerns also surfaced when Southampton visited the Emirates. Although they pulled off a late comeback, they still need to find a solution to their rearguard calamities.
Arsenal has a key defensive concern as William Saliba continues to make slow progress in his recovery from a back injury, which may cause him to miss the rest of the season. Manchester City is almost free of injuries, but they need to watch over the fitness of Nathan Ake.
The two teams have different challenges and must work hard to achieve their goals. Manchester City has a great chance to take control of the Premier League title race, while Arsenal needs to find solutions to their defensive problems. The game will be exciting to watch for football fans.
Man City are still going strong on all fronts as they steamroll past every opponent in their path towards the end of the season. They have the chance to take control of the Premier League title race when they face their rivals at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday.
After securing a spot in the Champions League semi-finals with a resounding 4-1 aggregate victory over Bayern Munich, Man City demolished Sheffield United at Wembley with a hat-trick from Riyad Mahrez to keep their hopes of FA Cup glory alive. In their last Premier League match, they had few difficulties in beating Leicester City, moving them onto 70 points for the season and just five points below their opponents with two games in hand.
Man City are unbeaten in 16 consecutive matches across all competitions, winning 13 of them. They will host Arsenal at the Etihad, where they have won all 12 of their matches in 2023. Although they have only kept two clean sheets in their last 10 Premier League games, their visitors may see this as an opportunity to break their long-standing losing streak against Man City.
Ahead of Wednesday’s crucial match, Manchester City have a relatively clean bill of health, with the exception of Nathan Ake who is nursing a thigh injury. Pep Guardiola will likely bring back key players such as John Stones, Ruben Dias, Rodri, and Kevin De Bruyne to the starting lineup, and Riyad Mahrez could earn a start after his hat-trick against Sheffield United.
Erling Braut Haaland, who has scored 32 goals in the top flight, needs just one more to break the record for a 38-game season. A seventh hat-trick for the Norwegian striker would put him in a league of his own in the Premier League, surpassing the current record held by Andy Cole and Alan Shearer.
Arsenal, on the other hand, are dealing with a key defensive concern as William Saliba is still recovering from a back injury and will miss the game, potentially for the rest of the season. In his absence, Rob Holding will face Haaland. Takehiro Tomiyasu and Mohamed Elneny are also out due to season-ending knee injuries, but Granit Xhaka is expected to return after missing the last game due to illness.
Former Manchester City players Oleksandr Zinchenko and Gabriel Jesus could start for Arsenal, while Gabriel Martinelli has the chance to break the record for the most goals by a Brazilian player in a single Premier League season with his 16th strike.
