Team News
Manchester City
- Man City heads into the crunch clash with an almost clean bill of health. However, Guardiola will be sweating over Nathan Ake’s fitness as he nurses a thigh injury.
- Guardiola might recall the likes of John Stones, Ruben Dias, Rodri and Kevin de Bruyne to the XI recalling he wasn’t shy about ringing the changes for the FA Cup semi final. Meanwhile, Mahrez’s hat-trick against the Blades could see him play his away into the start too.
- The irrepressible Erling Haaland Braut sits on 32 goals in the top flight. He needs only one more to break the record for a 38-game season. As such, a seventh hat-trick in Man City colors would see the 22-year-old entet a league of his own in the Premier League. Currently, Andy Cole and Allan Shearer lead the way with 34 strikes ina 42-game campaign.
Arsenal
- Arsenal has key defensive concern to worry about. William Saliba continues to make slow progress from his back injury recorvery. As such, the French man will miss the crush and potentially the rest of the season. This is a worst possible news for Gunners as the maligned Rob Holding comes face to face with Haaland.
- Takehiro Tomiyasu and Mohamed Elneny will also wach on from the sidelines as they rehabilitate from season-ending knee surgeries. However, Granit Xhaka should fight off the illness that ruled him out of the draw with Southampton. In this case, the ineffective Fabio Vieira will certainly make way.
- Oleksandr Zinchenko and Gabriel Jesus are in line to start against their former club. On the other hand, Gabriel Martinelli will break the record for the most goals by a Brazilian player in a single Premier League season with 16 strikes. The 21’s-year-old currently tally of 15 is equal to Roberto Firmino’s 2017/18 haul.
Possible Lineup
Manchester City: Ederson; Akanji, Dias, Laporte; Stones, Rodri; Mahrez, Gundogan, De Bruyne, Grealish; Haaland
Arsenal: Ramsdale; White, Holding, Gabriel, Zinchenko; Xhaka, Partey; Saka, Odegaard, Martinelli; Jesus
Prediction Analysis
Given how crucial Saliba is to Arsenal’s defensive and offensive style, his absence means that things could get ugly for the Gunners on Wednesday night, and fast.
The return of Xhaka will at least mean that Arsenal’s midfield should not get bypassed in the manner that it did against Southampton, but a Man City side who just cannot stop scoring – or winning – at home should stroll to a comfortable victory to take a giant step towards dethroning their capital counterparts.
Our prediction is Manchester City 3-1 Arsenal