Lunchtime on Saturday will see the end of the international break as two Premier league title contenders go head-to-head at the Emirates Stadium, the home of Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal. Arsenal currently lie seventh in the table with Manchester city resting in fourth, slightly ahead of Liverpool FC on goal difference. Arsenal are likely to be without midfielder Aaron Ramsey thanks to an ankle injury picked up in Wales’ 2-1 victory over Andorra. Ramsey however is of a different mindset assuring fans via his Twitter channel “I’ll be all right. I rolled my ankle a bit. Hopefully be ready for Saturday. I’m looking forward to it.”
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Arsene Wenger however may be of a different mindset, as he plans for action in the Champions League As well as other demanding fixtures in the future. Arsenal, who purchased Danny Welbeck on deadline day, may line up one of their most attacking formations including Alexis Sanchez, Mesut Ozil and Santi Cazorla likely to feature against a Manchester city side who are likely to still be reeling following a shock 1-0 defeat against Stoke a few days before the international break kicked in.
Wenger however, will not be writing off Manchester city but will be helpful of a result as three of the Manchester City stars are doubts for the trip to the Emirates, with Fernando, Jovetic and Zabaleta all injured. Danny Welbeck will be hoping to continue his goalscoring form after scoring twice for his country in the 2-0 win over Switzerland during the international break.
Arsenal’s recent form against Manchester City however, doesn’t make for enjoyable reading having failed to beat the Manchester side in their last four meetings. Wenger will more than likely want to forget the 6-3 thrashing at the Etihad stadium back in December 2013, when Manchester City were beginning to come into their power.
Even more ominous for the Gunners fans is that Manchester City have scored at least twice in their last 17 Premier League games, excluding the freak result against Stoke recently where they failed to score at all.
Wenger is a wily old fox when it comes the tactics, and is an expert when it comes to keeping a team in the top four, with Arsenal being an ever present in the champions league for the last 10 years. He is likely to play his trademark counter attacking talent passing game, with his team more than capable of simply passing the ball into the back of the net on a good day.
To throw a ray of light on some otherwise ominous recent statistics, Manchester City have only beaten Arsenal 15 times out of 88 matches. However it pays to keep in mind that the modern day Manchester City is the most expensive sporting outfit in the history of any sport. This game is a massive affair on the English Premier League calendar and both teams know that a win will be a massive boost to their campaign with nothing less than three points acceptable.
TIP: Arsenal 1-3 Manchester City
Teams:
Arsenal (Possible, 4-2-3-1): Szczesny; Debuchy, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Gibbs; Arteta, Wilshere; Sánchez, Özil, Cazorla; Welbeck
Out: Giroud (foot), Gnabry, Walcott (both knee).
Tests: Ramsey (ankle), Özil (ankle).
Manchester City (Possible, 4-2-3-1): Hart; Sagna, Kompany, Demichelis, Kolarov; Fernandinho, Touré; Nasri, Silva, Agüero; Jovetic.
Out: Fernando (groin), Jovetic (hamstring).
