The top two teams in the Premier League standings will clash this weekend, as Man City will host Arsenal at the Etihad in round 5 of the EPL. This will be the 14th game between Pep Guardiola and Mikel Arteta. Both teams have started this season in great form, so what should we expect from this matchup?
| ℹ️ Tournament: | English Premier League season 2024-25, Matchday 5 |
| ⚽️ Venue: | Etihad Stadium, Manchester, England |
| 🗓️ Date: | 22 September 2024 |
| ⏰ Time: | 3:30 p.m. GMT on Sunday |
According to the best soccer sportsbooks, Manchester City are the home favorites at 1.85 (17/20). A draw is offered at 3.70 (27/10), while Arsenal are the away underdogs at 4.50 (7/2) to beat the Citizens at the Etihad.
The Gunners stunned the Citizens last season by beating them twice, including a win in the FA Community Shield Final, but Manchester had a big advantage in this matchup before that, as in the last 11 matches, Man City won eight, drew once, and Arsenal won twice. Guardiola beat Arteta in nine of their 13 encounters so far.
Man City are currently sitting in first place in the Premier League standings with 12 points. The Citizens are the only team in the league that didn’t drop any points so far, beating Chelsea, Ipswich Town, West Ham, and finally Brentford. They have already won a trophy this season by beating Man United in the Community Shield.
The Citizens are coming off a 0-0 home draw with Inter Milan in the Champions League. The Man City betting odds have them as favorites to win the EPL and the UCL. They have by far the best attack in the league, scoring 11 goals in four matches while also having a balanced defense, so they are the most dangerous team to face in the league, especially with Erling Haaland’s current form.
Man City will miss Kevin De Bruyne after getting injured in the last game, while Oscar Bobb and Nathan Ake are still out.
Arsenal are currently sitting in second place in the Premier League standings with 10 points. The Gunners will be up against some tough teams in the Champions League next, including games with PSG and Inter Milan. They will also face Bolton Wanderers in the EFL round of 32 next week.
The Gunners are coming off a 0-0 away draw with Atalanta in the Champions League. Arsenal didn’t have their best performance in this game, but a penalty save by David Raya saved them from a defeat to get a much-needed point. Arsenal have been very solid this season, conceding only one goal in five games in all competitions.
Arsenal will miss Oleksandr Zinchenko, Martin Odegaard, Mikel Merino, and Takehiro Tomiyasu, while Declan Rice is back from his suspension.
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Arsenal have been as solid as it gets this season, as they are tied with Liverpool for the best defense in the league so far. The Gunners haven’t lost to Man City in any of their last three encounters, and they were close to beating Manchester in this exact stadium last season, so there’s a very good chance that Arsenal get at least a draw here.
We had Arsenal in our 24/25 Premier League betting predictions to win the title for a reason. The biggest Arsenal weakness was their squad depth, but they have solved that by adding players like Riccardo Calafiori and Raheem Sterling this transfer window, while Leandro Trossard has been great from the bench as well.
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Manchester City have gone over this number of corners in three consecutive EPL games, and they have done that on their own without the help of the other teams. Their Premier League matches so far have an average of 11.5 corners per game, while Arsenal have gone over this total as well in three of their last four EPL games. This matchup has had a lot of attempts on goal and corners in recent years, despite the lack of goals in the end, so we will back the over here.
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This is probably our favorite pick for this game, as there’s a lot of value on the under goals. It’s not a secret that Arsenal have been the best defensive-minded team in the league lately, and they managed to limit Erling Haaland successfully last year. Man City and Arsenal averaged 1 goal per game in their three head-to-head games last season, so another low-scoring game is very possible here, especially since none of them want to take huge risks in the first few weeks of the league.
This is one of the biggest matches of the season in the Premier League, and we will go with the Gunners to get a positive result. Make sure you use our 2024 Man City vs Arsenal betting predictions and bet them at the legal bookmakers in the UK to have more fun watching the game.
