Home / Football / Premier League News Manchester City v Arsenal: Line-ups, stats and preview Arsenal have a huge challenge to stop City's increasing momentum. Written by Nicholas McGee Last Update: April 17, 2026 06:00:03 pm BST 7 min read Manchester City host Arsenal in a match that could eventually decide the Premier League title race, as Pep Guardiolas men aim to cut the gap to the Gunners to three points. City took full advantage of Arsenals defeat at home to Bournemouth last Saturday as they won 3-0 at Chelsea, narrowing the deficit to the league leaders to six points, with the North London club having played a game more.Because of Citys game in hand, a victory over Arsenal in their third meeting of the season could prove to be a telling blow in a compelling fight for the title. Should City prevail and beat Burnley on Wednesday, they will be level on points with Mikel Artetas men and will likely have the edge on goal difference.Though City have the appearance of increasingly likely champions as they aim to reel Arsenal in, Guardiola does not believe his side are yet at the required levels to regain the title.We need to get even better. The first half against Chelsea was not bad but not great, Guardiola said at his pre-match press conference. The first 30 minutes against Liverpool [in the FA Cup] was not good either. The first 30 minutes against Arsenal in the [EFL Cup] final they were better.You cannot pretend that these kind of teams will be 90/95 minutes perfect, but this one aspect is not about the future, present or past, its about confidence, which is an incredible aspect.If you could buy confidence in a supermarket we would buy it immediately. It is one of the most important aspects.The reality is, there are seven games left in the Premier League and that is the decisive moment.City beat Arsenal 2-0 in the EFL Cup final last month, a result that appears to have imbued them with plenty of confidence that they can successfully chase down the leaders.But Guardiola knows the margins are fine and expressed his view that the title race will be over if City slip to defeat at the Etihad Stadium.Arsenals recent results have provided scant evidence to suggest that is a likely outcome, with the defeat to Bournemouth followed up by a dour 0-0 draw with Sporting CP in the Champions League, albeit that was enough to reach the semi-finals. Asked what his side have learnt from the cup final defeat, Arteta replied: Theyve [City] done it in the past there are some moments when we struggled, we didnt make the right decisions, sometimes we broke that press and then we didnt take advantage of that. Every tactic has its issues and its opportunities as well, and in relation to what they do, well adapt and do the same.For us now, learn from that game and the things we want to change for the next one, and the pain that we felt afterwards in the right way on Sunday.Our team has to give us every tool, every element that we need to go and win it. We will have a very, very strong opponent; we know that in front of us. Weve been doing it for nine months in every context, we have played a lot of games against them, and we know what we have to do.Table of Contents1 Team news for Manchester City v Arsenal2 Predicted line-ups for Manchester City v Arsenal3 Where to watch Manchester City v Arsenal: TV and online streams4 Stats for Manchester City v Arsenal5 Prediction for Manchester City v Arsenal6 What To Do If You Have A Gambling ProblemTeam news for Manchester City v ArsenalRuben Dias (hamstring) is not ready to return from an injury that has kept him out since Citys Champions League elimination at the hands of Real Madrid last month.Nico OReilly is available despite being forced off against Chelsea, but John Stones (calf) and Josko Gvardiol (shin) remain out.Bukayo Saka (Achilles) is out for Arsenal, but there is hope Noni Madueke will be able to play despite being forced off against Sporting.Jurrien Timber (groin), Martin Odegaard (knee) and Riccardo Calafiori (knock) round off the Arsenal injury list, with Arteta set to make a final decision over their availability on Saturday.Predicted line-ups for Manchester City v ArsenalManchester City: Donnarumma; Nunes, Khusanov, Guehi, OReilly; Rodri, Silva; Semenyo, Cherki, Doku, Haaland.Arsenal: David Raya; Mosquera, Saliba, Gabriel, Hincapie; Zubimendi, Rice; Madueke, Havertz, Martinelli; Gyokeres.Where to watch Manchester City v Arsenal: TV and online streamsManchester City v Arsenal kicks off at 4:30pm on Sunday. It will be broadcast on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Premier League, it can also be streamed via Sky Go.Via Now TV, Sky Sports costs �14.99 for a day membership, �28 a month for a 12-month membership or �34.99 a month with no contract.Sky Sports memberships include access to all 12 live Sky Sports channels and Sky Sports+, which offers live streams and a dedicated channel.Stats for Manchester City v ArsenalCity are unbeaten in their last 10 Premier League home games against Arsenal (W7 D3) since a 2-0 loss in January 2015 under Manuel Pellegrini.Arsenal are unbeaten in their last five Premier League games against City (W2 D3), having lost 12 in a row against them before this.For months with at least 10 games played, April is Citys best under Pep Guardiola in terms of points-per-game (2.51) and win rate (79.5%). By contrast, its the worst month for both of those for Arsenal under Mikel Arteta (1.54 PPG, 42.3% win rate).This is the latest into a season (MD33) City are facing the league leaders since April 2012, when they beat Manchester United 1-0 at the Etihad Stadium on MD36 en route to winning their first Premier League title.City are unbeaten in their last 14 Premier League home games, since losing 2-0 against Spurs in their opening match at the Etihad this term. Theyve netted at least twice in 12 of these 14 games.Arsenal have lost their last three matches in domestic competition, against City in the EFL Cup final, Southampton in the FA Cup, and Bournemouth in the Premier League. They last lost four consecutively in February/March 2018, which included defeats to City in the EFL Cup final and Premier League.Since the start of February, no City player has scored more goals in all competitions than Nico OReilly (6), who netted both goals in their 2-0 EFL Cup final win over Arsenal last month.Citys Rayan Cherki is averaging an assist every 138 minutes in the Premier League this season (10 assists in 1,384 minutes). Of players to play 1,000+ minutes in a single campaign, only Cesc Fabregas in 2016-17 (111) and Kevin De Bruyne in 2023-24 (123) have had a better average.Arsenals Eberechi Eze has either scored (2) or assisted (1) a goal in each of his last three appearances against City, teeing up Gabriel Martinellis 90th-minute equaliser in the reverse fixture.Prediction for Manchester City v ArsenalDespite Arsenals progression in the Champions League, there has been little from their recent performances to suggest they can check Citys momentum.Prediction: Manchester City 3-1 Arsenal What To Do If You Have A Gambling ProblemWe understand that gambling can be fun, but it is always important to gamble responsibly. If you are struggling with a gambling problem, please do not hesitate to ask for help. There are people who can help you get on the road to recovery. Below, we have listed some helpful resources to help aid you on the road to recovery.National Gambling Helpline: 0808 8020 133GamCare: https://www.gamcare.org.ukGambleAware: www.gambleaware.com Topics: Arsenal F.C. Manchester City F.C. Premier League Follow us: Nicholas McGee Reporter Nicholas is a freelance sports journalist with significant experience covering a wide variety of sports. He has previously worked for Stats Perform and was most recently employed as San Francisco 49ers beat writer for A to Z Sports. He regularly contributes to Gridiron magazine and has also had NFL work featured in The Times and The Mirror. Read more from Nicholas McGee
