Nathan Ake replaces Aymeric Laporte in defence following Sunday’s victory over Aston Villa while the rest of City’s side is unchanged.
Arsenal v City | Match preview
Ruben Dias and Erling Haaland, both replaced at half-time during Sunday’s win, are selected from the start again.
City know victory tonight will see us return to the top of the Premier League on goal difference with opponents Arsenal currently three points ahead and leading the league.
Teams
CITY XI: Ederson, Walker, Dias, Ake, Rodrigo, De Bruyne, Gundogan (c), Bernardo, Mahrez, Grealish, Haaland
Subs: Ortega Moreno, Phillips, Laporte, Alvarez, Gomez, Akanji, Foden, Palmer, Lewis
ARSENAL XI: Ramsdale, Tomiyasu, Saliba, Gabriel, Zinchenko, Jorginho, Xhaka, Odegaard (c), Saka, Martinelli, Nketiah
Subs: Turner, White, Tierney, Kiwior, Holding, Vieira, Trossard, Nelson, Cozier-Duberry
Tactics
We would assume Ederson will be protected by a defensive line of Kyle Walker, Ruben Dias and Nathan Ake.
Rodrigo and Bernardo Silva will be at the base of the midfield with Kevin De Bruyne and Ilkay Gundogan ahead of them.
Riyad Mahrez will be on the right of the front three and Jack Grealish on the left with Erling Haaland through the middle.
BERNARDO’S ROLE
Bernardo Silva played an all-action role in Sunday’s match, popping up in central midfield and filling in at left-back when the Blues were out of possession.
He was decisive defensively and a key part of starting attacks from deep, with Rodrigo often sprinting on ahead of him too.
However, it didn’t appear to dull his attacking spark with a delightful pass for Jack Grealish the source of the penalty that was converted by Riyad Mahrez.
Whether he plays a similar role tonight, given Arsenal’s highly dangerous wingers, remains to be seen.
Bernardo is one of few players in the world with the energy to meet the demands of the position.
Match stats
- Arsenal have lost their last 10 Premier League games against Manchester City, their longest losing run against an opponent in their league history.
- City have won our last six away games against Arsenal in all competitions, as many as they had in their previous 61 visits to the Emirates/Highbury combined (D18 L37). No team has ever won seven consecutive away games against the Gunners before.
- We are the only side Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has failed to beat in the Premier League, losing all five of his meetings with us.
- Arsenal had a player sent off in both Premier League meetings with Manchester City last season (Granit Xhaka away, Gabriel home). Only against Newcastle between 2010 and 2011 have the Gunners had a red card in three consecutive Premier League games.
- Arsenal have lost their last eight Premier League games against reigning champions, conceding at least two goals each time (6 of those vs Manchester City). Their last such victory was a 1-0 win over Leicester in April 2017.
- Arsenal have named the same starting XI in each of their last six Premier League games – they’ve never done so in seven consecutive matches in the competition before.
- Arsenal have failed to win consecutive Premier League matches for the first time this season, losing 1-0 at Everton and drawing 1-1 against Brentford. However, they’re unbeaten in their last 13 home league games (W11 D2), last having a longer run without defeat at the Emirates between August 2018 and April 2019 (16).
- Manchester City have won each of our last 22 Premier League games on a Wednesday, the longest winning run on a specific day of the week in the competition’s history.
- Having lost just one Premier League away game between September 2021 and January this year, Man City have now lost their last two. They’ve only lost three in a row on the road once under Pep Guardiola, doing so in July 2020.
