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What more could you ask for on a Sunday afternoon in February than a clash between second and fourth place in the Premier League, Arsenal and Manchester City?
This is a six-pointer, if ever there was one. Both teams need to win this match if they have any hope of catching Liverpool. Also, don’t forget that Mikel Arteta used to be Pep Guardiola’s assistant at Manchester City, so that obviously adds extra spice to the occasion.
In recent weeks, Arsenal have been grinding out results, whilst Manchester City seems to have turned a corner, which was emphasised by their stunning victory against Chelsea last weekend.
This match has all the hallmarks of being a cracker, so let’s take a look at what betting opportunities are available to us.
Odds and Predictions
Arsenal are the favourite at odds of 2.02, the price for the draw is 3.60, and the odds given by top football betting sites for a Manchester City win is 3.30.
We think that the odds of an Arsenal victory are actually very generous, but we believe that this will be an entertaining match with a few goals, so with that in mind, we are going to recommend a bet on the match ending in a draw.
The second one of our predictions is based on the correct score. The odds of 15.0 on a 2 – 2 draw look good to us, so we recommend a small wager on that outcome.
The last one of our tips is on the “To score at any time” market. For a change, we are not going with Phil Foden, but instead Erling Haaland; those odds of 2.60 look very attractive indeed.
Comparison and Statistics
Arsenal and Manchester City have played each other H2H a total of 212 times across all competitions.
Arsenal have won 99 of these head-to-head matches, Manchester City have won 65, and 48 matches have ended in a draw.
The last five H2H matches between the two teams have seen Arsenal win three and Manchester City win two.
| Past Meetings | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22 Sep 2024 | manchester-city | 0-1 | arsenal | Premier League |
| 31 Mar 2024 | manchester-city | 4-1 | arsenal | Premier League |
| 08 Oct 2023 | arsenal | 1-0 | manchester-city | Premier League |
| 26 Apr 2023 | manchester-city | 4-1 | arsenal | Premier League |
| 15 Feb 2023 | arsenal | 1-3 | manchester-city | Premier League |
Expected Line Ups
For us, the standout player for Arsenal over the past couple of games has been Declan Rice. He is controlling the midfield and always looking to push forward, which is great news for Martinelli and Havertz, but aren’t they missing Saka? Hopefully, it won’t be too long before he is fit to return to the starting line up.
Manchester City must be relieved that John Stones is back in the fray after his absence and he has been looking like his old self when he has come on as a sub in the last couple of matches.
Arsenal (4-3-3): David Raya; R. Calafiori, Gabriel, W. Saliba, J. Timber; Declan Rice, M. Ødegaard, Mikel Merino; L. Trossard, G. Martinelli, Kai Havertz.
Manchester City (4-3-3): Ederson; J. Gvardiol, M. Akanji, John Stones, Matheus Nunes; B. Silva, M. Kovačić, I. Gündoğan; O. Marmoush, Phil Foden, E. Haaland.
How Will the Season Pan Out
As there seems to be no stopping Liverpool at the moment, all Arsenal and Manchester City can do is try and keep up the pressure.
Now that City have found their form again, they will be hoping to first close ground on Arsenal and then take the second place from them.
For Arsenal, all they can do is keep on winning and hope that Liverpool slip up at some point between now and the end of the season.
