​From Emmanuel Adebayor and Gaël Clichy to Bacary Sagna and Samir Nasri – for years Manchester City have been happy to plunder Arsenal’s brightest talents, frequently handing the Gunners a thrashing on the pitch to add insult to injury.

With Mikel Arteta controversially going in the other direction this season, Arsenal will hope that they might finally start having things their own way, and a Wednesday night showdown against a side who looked out of ideas in the Manchester derby on Sunday looks a great place to begin.

Arsenal could make an unlikely entry back into contention for a Champions League spot with a victory, and though second-placed City are at best playing for pride already with Liverpool rampaging towards a 19th top-flight title, they will not want to give the Reds the satisfaction of lifting the Premier League trophy at Goodison Park by dropping points.

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Where to Watch

When is Kick Off?​	​Wednesday 11 March
​What Time is Kick Off?	​19:30 (GMT)
​Where is it Played?	​Etihad Stadium
​TV Channel/Live Stream?	​Sky Sports Main Event

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Team News

Manchester City could be without a number of key players, with Pep Guardiola unsure if Kevin de Bruyne ​will feature after he was surprisingly left out of Sunday’s squad at Old Trafford with a shoulder injury, while top scorer Sergio Agüero was substituted against United with a thigh problem. 

Aymeric Laporte meanwhile will be out for a few more weeks after picking up a hamstring injury against Real Madrid, while this won’t be the match where Leroy Sané returns from a torn ACL with Guardiola confirming that the winger is ‘still not 100% fit’.

Calum Chambers will not feature again for the Gunners this season after undergoing knee surgery, while Lucas Torreira will join him in sitting out Arsenal’s campaign after sustaining a fractured ankle from a heavy challenge in their FA Cup victory over Portsmouth. 

While Kieran Tierney is back in training after December’s shoulder injury this game will also be too soon for him, as with new signing Cédric Soares who is still recovering from a knee injury. Sead Kolašinac will not return until the end of March at least after walking off against Everton with a shoulder injury. Shkodran Mustafi is also a doubt, being assessed with a tight right thigh.

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Predicted Lineups

​Man City	​Ederson; Mendy, Otamendi, Fernandinho, Walker; Rodri, Gündoğan; Sterling, D. Silva, Mahrez; Jesus
​Arsenal	​Leno; Saka, Papastathopoulos, Luiz, Bellerín; Xhaka, Ceballos; Aubameyang, Özil, Pépé; Lacazette

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Head-to-Head Record

Arsenal will head to the Etihad looking to avoid defeat for the first time in seven games against Man City. 

Indeed, some of the Gunners’ greatest humblings in recent years have come in this fixture, from a passive 3-0 loss at the Emirates ​during the tail end of Freddie Ljungberg’s short reign to an unfortunate sequence in 2018 when they lost 3-0 to the Cityzens twice within the space of seven days.

8 – In the first half of Arsenal’s game against Man City, Pierre-Emerick Aubamayeng had just eight touches, three of which were from kick-offs and none coming in the opposition’s box. Anonymous. #ARSMCI pic.twitter.com/qcwm371ObW

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) December 15, 2019

They have also had some memorable results against their opponents in recent years, defeating them 2-1 via an Arsène Wenger masterclass on their way to the 2017 FA Cup and dismantling Manuel Pellegrini’s side 3-0 to win the 2014 Community Shield.

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Recent Form

Prior to a flat Manchester derby loss for which Ederson was largely, if not totally, responsible, City were showing signs of making something out of what was previously a disappointing season, with quietly efficient victories against Sheffield Wednesday and ​Aston Villa, t​he latter in the Carabao Cup final no less, accompanied by one of the club’s most audacious European away victories against ​Real Madrid.

City are still some distance away from ​Liverpool – 25 points to be exact – but look set to ensure that there will be no danger of them dropping out of the European places (although they may have already taken care of that off the pitch).

0.62 – Manchester City’s Expected Goals total of 0.62 was their lowest in a Premier League game this season, and their lowest in the competition overall since April 2019 – also against Manchester United (0.52). Smothered. pic.twitter.com/ckQxs2l8tM

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) March 8, 2020

Arsenal have looked tidy without necessarily creating too many chances, dispatching teams consistently but with no shortage of nervous defending either side of their dramatic Europa League exit to Olympiacos.

A victory on Wednesday would ensure that Arsenal remain unbeaten in the Premier League in 2020, having gone eight matches in the competition without a loss this year.

Here’s how both sides have done in their last five matches:

​Man City	Arsenal​
​Man United 1-0 Man City (08/03)	​Arsenal 1-0 West Ham (07/03)
​Sheffield Wednesday 0-1 Man City (04/03)	​Portsmouth 0-2 Arsenal (02/03)
​Aston Villa 1-2 Man City (01/03)	​Arsenal 1-2 Olympiacos (27/02)
​Real Madrid 1-2 Man City (26/02)	​Arsenal 3-2 Everton (23/02)
​Leicester 0-1 Man City (22/02)	​Olympiacos 0-1 Arsenal (20/02)

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Prediction​

​Man City have definitely had Arsenal’s number in recent years, but with De Bruyne and Agüero absent for this match, and ​Arsenal just a few final passes short of a good performance in recent weeks, Arteta will fancy his chances of pulling off a shock.

City are still City, however, and the chances of them losing two league games in a row are about as slim as it gets.

With both sides forced to resort to some of their defensive deputies, and Arteta likely to start his strongest lineup otherwise, there are almost certainly goals in this one, and a big away draw for the Gunners could be the result of this face-off between master and apprentice.

Prediction: Man City 2-2 Arsenal​

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