Jack Grealish and Rico Lewis drop to the bench while Ilkay Gundogan, Kyle Walker and Jeremy Doku all return to the starting XI.
line-ups
CITY: Ederson, Walker (C), Akanji, Dias, Gvardiol, Rodrigo, Gundogan, Bernardo, Savinho, Doku, Haaland
Subs: Ortega Moreno, Carson, Stones, Kovacic, Grealish, Nunes, Foden, Lewis, McAtee
ARSENAL: Raya, Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Calafiori, Partey, Rice, Havertz, Saka, Martinelli, Trossard
Subs: Neto, White, Kiwior, Kacurri, Lewis-Skelly, Jorginho, Nwaneri, Sterling, Jesus
CITY v WATFORD | GET YOUR TICKETS
Formation/Possible tactics
On paper, City will go 4-3-3 against Arsenal.
Ederson will have back four of Walker, Josko Gvardiol, Ruben Dias and Manuel Akanji in front of him, with Rodrigo in his usual holding role.
Bernardo and Ilkay Gundogan will take up the more advanced midfield roles, while Doku and Savinho will be on either flank supporting Erling Haaland.
Expect Gvardiol to be the more adventurous of our defenders - much as he did against Brentford - with the Blues looking to attack from wide areas.
WATCH: City v Arsenal: Memorable moments
ROCK SOLID GUNNERS
With five games played this season, Arsenal’s defence has looked solid as a rock.
Breached only once in five matches, Mikel Arteta has fashioned a backline who are, in some ways, a throwback to the great Arsenal sides of yesteryear who put clean sheets ahead of all else - hence the song ‘1-0 to the Arsenal’.
Their regular back four of Ben White, Jurrien Timber, William Saliba and Gabriel is a formidable quartet, with David Raya behind and Declan Rice in front.
White makes way for new signing Riccardo Calafiori today, who will have his first taste of this high octane contest today.
Last season, the Blues couldn’t find a way past the Arsenal defence in either Premier League meeting, losing 1-0 at the Emirates and drawing 0-0 at the Etihad.
Of course, in previous seasons, City had scored plenty of goals against Arsenal, both home and away, but finding the net today will be crucial for Pep Guardiola‘s side.
Erling Haaland will need plenty of support, and in many ways, the intricate defensive tactics of Inter in midweek might be the perfect preparation for this game.
Not that Arsenal rely completely on their defence - far from it - our own excellent back four will have plenty to occupy them with the likes of Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli, Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Jesus likely to feature.
There is a healthy respects between the two sets of players, but there will be no quarter asked, no quarter given in what should be a fascinating contest this afternoon.
Early advantage up for grabs
The result of today will not determine the Premier League winners - with only four games played, the season has just started and there will 33 more games to play after this one.
But as we have seen so often in recent years, the title race can be decided by just one or two points.
A win for the Blues will put us five clear of Arsenal, while a draw will mean the gap remains just a couple of points.
With a trip to the Emirates to come later in the season, avoiding defeat for the champions is crucial - but would not define our season, as we have proved many times in the past.
STATS, FACTS & TRIVIA
● City are unbeaten in their last nine Premier League home games against Arsenal (W7 D2) since a 2-0 defeat in January 2015.
● Arsenal earned four points against r City in the Premier League last season, double the amount they had from their previous 15 such meetings with the Citizens (W0 D2 L13).
● Arsenal kept a clean sheet in both Premier League meetings with City last season, having conceded at least once in their last 16 against the Citizens beforehand (40 goals in total).
● Arsenal have won 99 of their 211 meetings with City in all competitions (D47 L65). They’ve only reached triple figures for victories against Everton (111), while it’s the most defeats the Citizens have suffered against an opponent in their history.
● Having won their first four Premier League games this season, City are looking to become the first team in English top-flight history to win their first five in five different campaigns, previously doing so in 1912-13, 2015-16, 2016-17 and 2023-24.
● Arsenal haven’t trailed in any of their last 11 away league games and could become the first side in Premier League history to go 12 successive matches on the road without falling behind in any (Aston Villa – also 11 between March and November 1998).
● City have won each of their last 13 Premier League games – in the competition’s history, there have only been six cases of a team winning 14+ in a row, with the City (and manager Pep Guardiola) responsible for half of those (18 in 2017, 15 in 2019 and 15 in 2021).
● Erling Haaland has scored nine goals in four Premier League games this season. The fewest appearances any player has taken to reach double figures in a single campaign is six, by Mick Quinn in 1992-93 and Haaland himself in 2022-23.
● Haaland has scored eight goals in his last three Premier League games, netting hat-tricks against Ipswich and West Ham, and a brace against Brentford. In Premier League history, only Luis Suárez has scored multiple goals in four consecutive appearances (hat-trick and three braces in December 2013).
● Bukayo Saka has been involved in five of Arsenal’s six Premier League goals so far this season (1 goal, 4 assists), assisting a goal in all four games so far. In Premier League history, only Thierry Henry (2004-05) has provided an assist in each of a team’s first five matches in a season.
