Manchester City welcome Arsenal to the Etihad on Wednesday night in what is set up to be a potentially title deciding match-up. The Gunners will be hoping to put their previous three results behind them and what better time to show redemption than in the club’s most prominent fixture in recent years.
City currently sit five points behind Arsenal in second, however the Sky Blues have two crucial games in hand on their rivals, making Wednesday night’s game a real Premier League thriller at a decisive point of the season.
Pep Guardiola’s team will be relishing the challenge as they have been chasing down Arsenal for the majority of the campaign – a win on Wednesday would not see City leapfrog Arsenal just yet, but it would put them in good stead to go forward and win the title next month.
It’s expected – considering Manchester City’s efficiency in title charges – that only a win will keep Arsenal’s title hopes alive, a result that the Gunners haven’t achieved since January 2015. To really put the pressure on, Mikel Arteta will be aiming to claim the Gunners first points registered at the Etihad since 2016, with every game in the league ending in defeat since that year.
Live coverage of the potentially historic match-up will be available in the UK on BT Sport with kick off at 20:00.
Manchester City team news: Will Nathan Ake return from injury in time?
Pep Guardiola’s side are flourishing and come into this Premier League encounter full of optimism. There aren’t many squads that can contend with City’s at the best of times, however Guardiola has an almost fully fit team to rotate between making the Champions just that bit stronger.
The hosts only debate when it comes to potentially missing the game through injury is Nathan Ake. The 28-year-old has been superb in defence this season playing as both a centre-back and roaming left-back under Guardiola’s commands.
The Dutch international suffered a hamstring injury in Munich during City’s 1-1 draw with Bayern Munich in the Champions League. It’s currently unclear as to whether he will feature in Wednesday’s game after missing the FA Cup semi-final.
Nathan Aké has not been spotted in @ManCity’s pre-Arsenal training gallery. ⛔️??
— City Xtra (@City_Xtra) April 25, 2023
The defensive stability of City’s back three allows Ake to roam forward to showcase his attacking capabilities, who is extremely confident on the ball, as we’ve seen this season so far as he ranks at number nine in the Premier League for most completed passes into the final third – as per statistics gathered by one-versus-one.
Arsenal know all too well the versatility of Ake, who scored the goal that knocked the Gunners out of the FA Cup back in January. It’s expected that if Ake does not feature, it could be a chance for Aymeric Laporte to feature in City’s backline, a player that doesn’t possess the pace or agility of Ake and could be a slim point of exposure for Arsenal to focus upon down the wide channels.
Arsenal team news: With no Saliba for the Gunners, can Arteta trust Holding?
Arsenal will once again be without their first choice centre-back William Saliba, as reported by The Athletic’s David Ornstein. The 22-year-old continues to recover from a back injury sustained in the 2-2 draw with Sporting Lisbon early last month. The Gunners have struggled without the Frenchman, who has been an integral part of Arsenal’s title charge this season.
? Arsenal will be without William Saliba for Man City trip on Weds. 22yo defender’s back injury not showing sufficient progress. Also likely to miss Chelsea game next week. Increasing concern season over but not confirmed @TheAthleticFC #AFC #MCFC #MCIARS https://t.co/RyHFgAj5MJ
— David Ornstein (@David_Ornstein) April 24, 2023
The injury of Takheiro Tomiyasu came in the same Europa League fixture, leaving Arsenal limited in their defensive options to rotate around Saliba’s injury. It’s apparent how much Arsenal are missing their star man, with their win rate dropping to 40% without Saliba, as opposed to 77.8% with him in the starting eleven.
The most notable statistic is Arteta’s side’s inability to keep a clean sheet since the loss of Saliba, conceding an average of 1.8 goals per match without the Frenchman, while only 0.9 with him in the side. Arsenal have reverted to Rob Holding at centre-back, which has been a risk considering the lack of appearances the Englishman has made over the last few seasons.
The 27-year-old centre-back started for Arsenal at the Etihad in the FA Cup back in January and was subbed off at half-time after receiving an early yellow card for his efforts to stop the prominence of Erling Haaland. It was clearly in City’s game plan to exploit Arsenal’s defensive weaknesses, which was evident through Holding’s isolation by Haaland who ultimately won the battle in the opening 45 minutes.
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