The Premier League trophy has remained at the Etihad for a couple of months longer than it was expected to thanks to the enforced break in play, but with Leicester and Chelsea breathing down their necks below them Pep Guardiola won’t allow his players to take their foot off the pedal.
A loss to Arsenal on Wednesday would open the door for Liverpool to seal the title at Goodison Park at the weekend, but with The Gunners languishing in 9th position a victory upon Mikel Arteta’s return to the Etihad doesn’t look likely.
The reigning champions headed into lockdown on the back of a devastating 2-0 loss to arch rivals Manchester United, leaving them a mammoth 25 points behind Liverpool in the title race. They do have this game in hand, but the title race is nothing but a formality at this stage.
Arsenal, meanwhile, find themselves desperately trying to push their way up the table and into the race for Champions League football. They lie down in 9th but, with just eight points separating them from Chelsea in one of the most open top four races in memory, anything is possible at this stage.
The Gunners’ fortunes have improved since Mikel Arteta left the Pep Guardiola’s passenger seat to take charge at the Emirates, but there’s no denying that there is a long way to go with this Arsenal team.
Still, they’re unbeaten in their last eight Premier League games and their December defeat to Chelsea remains Arteta’s only loss in 90 minutes in the Arsenal hot seat. However, with matches against Man City, Spurs, Leicester and Liverpool still to come, it’s hard to see that being his only loss of the season.
Manchester City aren’t the unstoppable force they were last term, but they are still justifiable favourites in almost every match they play. They have scored a league-high 68 goals this season and have won nine of their 13 home games, with their only defeats coming against Wolves and Manchester United.
As their attacking record clearly shows, they have (almost) lost the title at the back this year. Aymeric Laporte’s injury was a hammer blow to their chances, and while the Frenchman did manage to play in a training match last week it’s unlikely he’ll be thrown straight back into the mix here.
Without Laporte The Citizens’ defence has a tendency to fall apart. They have only kept three clean sheets in their last 10 home league matches, and with Arsenal scoring in all but one of his 15 games in charge of Arsenal we’re expecting Aubameyang and company to put the home defence to the test.
Stopping Manchester City at the other end is another prospect entirely. They have won each of their last six meetings with Arsenal, so we’re predicting a Manchester City win and both teams to score.
Each of their last two meetings at the Etihad has ended in a 3-1 win for the hosts, and with Man City averaging 2.54 goals per home game that’s what we’re backing for our correct score prediction.
BET: MANCHESTER CITY AND BTTS @ 13/10