Nineteen-year-old Garcia is making just his third start in the league and will partner Aymeric Laporte in defence, whilst fit-again Sane is involved for the first time since suffering a knee ligament injury in the Community Shield victory over Liverpool in August.
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Pep Guardiola has made eight changes to the side that lost 2-0 to Manchester United in our final fixture before football was suspended three months ago due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ederson, who will make his 100th Premier League appearance, Ilkay Gundogan and Raheem Sterling are the only players to retain their place from the defeat at Old Trafford, with Kevin De Bruyne, Gabriel Jesus and captain David Silva all returning.
Sergio Aguero is on the bench, whilst Claudio Bravo, Joao Cancelo and John Stones are not fully fit and have been left out of tonight’s squad.
City squad
XI: Ederson, Walker, Garcia, Laporte, Mendy, Gundogan, D. Silva (C), De Bruyne, Mahrez, Sterling, Jesus.
Subs: Carson, Aguero, Zinchenko, Rodrigo, Sane, B. Silva, Fernandinho, Otamendi, Foden.
Arsenal squad
XI: Leno, Bellerin, Mari, Mustafi, Tierney, Guendouzi, Xhaka, Nketiah, Willock, Saka, Aubameyang.
Subs: Martinez, Luiz, Kolasanic, Maitland-Niles, Ceballos, Nelson, Pepe, Martinelli, Lacazette.
Formation: 4-3-3
In a season in which Guardiola has experimented with formations, he has gone with his favoured 4-3-3 on our return to action.
Fit-again Laporte will lead the back line alongside young Garcia, with Kyle Walker and Benjamin Mendy providing width and an attacking outlet from full-back.
Ilkay Gundogan will be our metronome as the deepest lying midfielder, with the genius of Silva and De Bruyne probing in more advanced positions.
Sterling and Mahrez will operate either side of Jesus, who leads the line up front.
Unknown quantity
Football may be back, but it is not as we know it and that makes tonight’s game very difficult to predict.
The absence of fans, a host of changes to the matchday routine and the fact that this is the first game for more than three months are all challenges the players will have to overcome.
The good news is, it’s the same for both teams, with both groups likely to be finding their feet after just three and a half weeks of preparation in training.
For Guardiola, the message is simple.
“Adapt as quickly as possible,” he said when asked what he wanted from the squad at his pre-match press conference.
“They played in the playground as kids with no fans and were good. It’s a football game, follow what we know.”
Stats and facts
- We have won our last six league and cup matches against Arsenal, which is our longest winning run over them.
- We have won the past five league meetings, which is the Gunners’ longest losing streak against an opponent since they lost seven in a row versus Ipswich Town between between 1974 and 1977.
- We have not lost to Arsenal since the FA Cup semi-final defeat in 2017.
- Both teams have played on other competitive fixture in the month of June. We beat Newport County 5-1 at home in a second tier game in 1947, while in the same year Arsenal lost 2-1 at Sheffield United in a top-flight encounter.
- Sergio Aguero has scored 10 goals in his last 12 appearances against Arsenal in all competitions.
- Pep Guardiola is yet to lose a home game against Arsenal in his managerial career. He’s won six out of seven games against them.
- Kevin de Bruyne has been directly involved in six goals in his past seven Premier League starts against Arsenal, scoring four and assisting two.
- With four wins and four draws, Arsenal are unbeaten in the Premier League this calendar year. Coventry City are the only other side in England’s top four divisions yet to lose.
