Whenever Manchester City and Arsenal get together, 1. it’s massive, with a lot of ramifications and 2. is a reunion of former mates. Mikel Arteta, Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchencko will all be looking to get one over here on their former team.
City started the campaign off in imperial fashion, but have since come back to Earth, once the injuries and suspensions piled up.
Arsenal vs Manchester City FYIs
Kickoff: Sun. Oct. 8, 4:30pm, Emirates Stadium
Transatlantic Passage: How the Premier League Redefined Soccer in America: LINK
Team News: Arsenal Manchester City
Starting XI Predictions: Arsenal Manchester City
Google Result Probability: Arsenal 33% Manchester City 39% Draw 28%
PL Standing: Arsenal 3rd, 17 pts Manchester City 1st, 18 pts
PL Form: Arsenal WDWWD Manchester City LWWWW
This is really anybody’s ballgame, to be sure, but City are favored despite being on the road and short-handed. If Pep Guardiola approaches the game straight up, tactically, he should win. If he tries to get too creative with the lineup and/or the strategy, well then that is when the trouble typically starts.
Here is what we think his strongest starting lineup option is.
Manchester City Starting XI Prediction at Arsenal FC
Ederson; Josko Gvardiol, Ruben Dias, Manuel Akanji, Kyle Walker; Rico Lewis, Mateo Kovacic; Phil Foden, Julian Alvarez, Jeremy Doku; Erling Haaland
Prediction: Man City 2, Arsenal 1
Same as it ever was, we think and predict.
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He’s written for numerous publications, including the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. He regularly appears on NTD News and WGN News Now. Follow the website on Twitter and Instagram.