Manchester City vs Arsenal Predictions

• Arsenal have lost their last eight visits to the Etihad
• The Gunners have been beaten in 12 of their last 13 league clashes with City
• City have won eight of their last nine at home

Title rivals go head-to-head

This clash at the Etihad is undoubtedly the game of the weekend, which will play a huge part in deciding the destination of this season’s Premier League title. These two sides are split by just a point going into the weekend, with Liverpool also sandwiched between them in a razor-tight title chase.

Arsenal currently lead the way, but they face an incredibly difficult game this weekend. The Gunners have a terrible recent record against Man City and they’ve really struggled at the Etihad over the years. Can the visitors send out a message this weekend with a victory, or will they fall to Pep Guardiola’s men once again?

Arsenal’s Etihad blues

Arsenal have lost each of their last eight visits to the Etihad across all competitions, last avoiding defeat at City back in May 2016 – a couple of months before Pep Guardiola arrived. Since the former Barca boss made it to England, the Gunners have really struggled to handle City.

The Citizens have won 12 of the last 13 league meetings between the pair, although the Gunners did snap that losing streak with a win over City in the first-half of this campaign. However, City were missing key players for that one, with Rodri suspended and Kevin De Bruyne injured during that clash.

City have both players back for this encounter, while they’ve raised their game in recent months. Guardiola’s side have perfected the art of hitting top gear in the back-half of the season, which tends to see them reel in the leaders before storming to the title.

De Bruyne gunning for Gunners

Arsenal are looking to extend an impressive eight-game winning streak in the league in this clash but they were beaten 1-0 at Porto in the middle of that run. City should look to frustrate the Gunners in a similar way, while the Premier League champions have far more attacking talent which can decide this game.

Kevin De Bruyne should play a big role, having both scored and assisted in the two clashes between these sides last season. The Belgian has scored more goals against City (eight) than against any other team. He’s scored in three of his last four home meetings with Arsenal and the Belgian could prove to be the difference-maker in this contest.

Back City to take the points with the hosts picking up eight wins from their last nine games at home. Their great record against Arsenal makes the champions look like good value for the win, while I’d expect this to be a close contest, with Arsenal conceding exactly once in three of their four visits to sides in the top 10 this term.