Prediction: Manchester City vs Arsenal

Verdict: Manchester City

Best Odds: 6/5

Bookmaker: Bet365

There will hardly be a better and bigger introduction to festive round of fixtures than a clash of the two title contenders Manchester City and Arsenal, who both have so much to prove to each other and to their eager sets of fans. With a point’s distance between them, victory would mean the world to both Arsene Wenger and Pep Guardiola so we do anticipate a fiercely- contested match at the Etihad on Sunday.

Manchester City

Pep Guardiola seems to have gotten more than what he bargained for at Manchester City. Former Barcelona and Bayern Munich manager is struggling to imprint his ideas onto the team and faces accusations claiming that his tactics are confusing the players. Pablo Zabaleta filling the midfield role in an attempt to replicate Philipp Lahm’s successful adaptation to the new role, Guardiola is failing to find the consistency in his team’s performances. Win over Watford followed defeats against Chelsea and reigning champions Leicester City with the 1-1 draw against Celtic in the Champions League sandwiched in between. The midweek win did relieve the Spaniard some of the pressure, but the heat is still on as Manchester City head into the Sunday’s match looking to record their first win over Arsenal since 2013. Guardiola is faced with some selection issues but is hopeful a win over Watford will be enough of a morale boost for his men to go out and give their best against the Gunners.

Team News

Midfielder Fernandinho and talisman striker Sergio Aguero are still serving their red-card suspensions following the Chelsea bust-up.

Ilkay Gundogan has sustained a knee injury against Watford that is likely to keep him sidelined for a while, whereas captain Vincent Kompany and midfielder Fabian Delph are still out of action.

Arsenal

Gunners’ fans are furious as their beloved team failed to take full advantage of Liverpool’s slip-ups and strengthen their runners-up position behind Chelsea. Instead, not only did the 2-1 defeat at the hands of Everton ended Arsenal’s incredible run without a loss, which was live since the opening day of the Premier League new season, but it also pushed Gunners back in the pecking order to third. Knowing that there is just a single point’s gap between them and their Sunday’s rivals, the pressure is on Arsenal to try and remain unbeaten at the Etihad in order to keep up the pace behind the leading duo. Arsenal fans are worried that their Premier League title wait could get extended and are urging their team to pick up the pieces and get back to this season’s usual selves to grab a hugely important victory ahead of the hectic Christmas schedule. The very schedule has not be too kind on the Gunners who play five out of six games on the road and Wenger’s men will need to prove their durability if they are to be considered proper title chasers.

Team News

Wenger is facing a lengthy injury list for the trip to Etihad as Shkodran Mustafi, Santi Casrola and Aaron Ramsey as this season’s first-choices will not be able to help their teammates on Sunday.

Towering German defender Per Mertesacker is closing on full fitness following his knee surgery but the match is coming too soon for him. Chuba Akpom and Mathieu Debuchy also miss out.

Key Aspects to Consider

• Man City are looking for the 1^st win over Arsenal in last 3 years
• Arsenal are having no less than 7 unavailable players for the game
• Defeat to Everton ended the 14-match unbeaten run for Gunners
• Citizens lost only 1 of their last 15 home matches across competitions
• City recorded their first home win since 17 September during the week

Conclusion

We are expecting to see a proper cracker of a game on Sunday at the Etihad Stadium. Two title chargers are heading into the game feeling the heat under their seats and will be eager to record a win over direct title rivals that is likely to be a huge boost for each team’s morale. We give a slight edge to the home side, who should be able to end their three-year dry spell against the Gunners.

Verdict: Manchester City

Best Odds: 6/5

Bookmaker: Bet365