Manchester City V Arsenal

Manchester City V Arsenal

Kick-Off: Saturday 12^th September – 15:00 GMT

Venue: City of Manchester Stadium

Manchester City

League Position: 4th

Recent Form: WWW

After shelling out well over £100,000,000 during the summer, it’s no surprise that Man City have made a very good start to the season, and let’s face it, anything but would have left manager Mark Hughes under serious scrutiny. That’s not the case though, for now anyway, with City one of just three teams still boasting a 100% record in the Premiership, with three wins from three games. Victories over Blackburn & Portsmouth, both away from home, and a narrow 1-0 win against Wolves, in Manchester, has given City the perfect start, but their immaculate record could be in jeopardy here as a Arsenal side hell-bent on getting revenge on anything associated with Manchester, come to town.

If Man City want to enter the fold then they need to start beating the ‘Top Four’, starting with Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal. A team City did actually beat last season at The City of Manchester, thumping Arsenal 3-0, in a resounding manner. City, you would feel, should be more dangerous this time around but they’ve hardly been impressive in front of goal despite winning three on the trot. Despite boasting the likes Emmanuel Adebayor, Robinho and Carlos Tevez, City have managed just four goals in their opening three games, with Adebayor grabbing two of them. Of course, it’s a huge plus that Emmanuel Adebayor has found his striking boots once again, and at such an early stage of the season, but if City are to become the force so many are hyping them up to be then others in the City ranks will need to chip and put in a collective team performance, rather than relying on separate individuals.

City are a much better side this time around, although, their problems in the final third appear to be ever present, with City squandering a hat full chances in each of their league encounters thus far. Fortunately, they’ve found the opposing net in each but against a side like Arsenal, who do keep it fairly tight at the back, City could come a cropper if they don’t become a lot more clinical in attack.

Arsenal

League Position: 6th

Recent Form: WWL

Arsenal’s superb start to the season came to an abrupt end after their controversial defeat at Old Trafford against bitter rivals, Manchester United. We say controversial as not only was there a ‘sketchy’ penalty given against the ‘Gunners’ but Arsenal were also denied a late equaliser through an offside decision, albeit a correct one. However, Arsene Wenger was left enraged and was sent to the stands for losing his bottle in the dugout, quite literally, kicking a water bottle and receiving a red card for his troubles.

That defeat against United will have rocked the Arsenal camp but they’ve had a fortnight to recover mentally and the players should be fresh and raring to go as they aim to make amends, albeit against the wrong Manchester side. Confidence within the Arsenal dressing room should still be high, with two emphatic wins over Everton (6-1) & Portsmouth (4-1) under their belts. They’ve also been a lot more prolific in front of goal then their match day opponents, scoring 11 in just three games, that’s seven more than City’s tally. However, a host of players will only arrive back from their international duties with a few days to spare so the possibility of Arsene Wenger having a few tired legs to chose from is very high.

Arsenal will play their usual sweet, crisp football, with the sheer pace of their attacking play their biggest attribute. Arshavin, the Russian maestro, will be a right handful down the left while Robin Van Persie, the Dutch superstar, should be a similar nuisance down the right. Their forward duo of Eduardo & Bendtnar has yet to convince me and many others, but Arsenal posses more then enough talent in midfield to overrun City in the centre of the park and given half the chance, as Arsenal have shown already, they will take any sniff of a goalscoring opportunity.

Head-to-Head:

Man City W: 2 Arsenal W: 7 Draws: 1

Arsenal have enjoyed the vast amounts of success in previous meetings, but, however, City gave Arsenal one huge reality check last season, smashing 3 past Arsenal in a 3-0 rout at The City of Manchester stadium. A similar scoreline does look out of the question here but we suppose you never know. Two of Arsenal’s last two victories at Man City have been by a 1-3 scoreline.

Over 2.5 Goals: 4 Under 2.5 Goals: 6

Predicting whether or not this game will have a few goals looks precarious indeed. This will either be a tight encounter, with both teams spurring several glorious opportunities, or this will be an enthralling game, jam packed with goals and controversy. Let’s hope we get the latter.

Match Verdict: A tight game to end in a share of the spoils (DRAW) – 9/4 PaddyPower

We really want to post Arsenal up as a tip but we can’t help but think that Man City could be their match. Mark Hughes has made City into a more solid outfit over the summer, and, although they do still need to acquire another quality centre-back, City’s defence has already shown huge signs of improvements, keeping three successive clean sheets. Arsenal have also been pretty ship-tight, conceding four in three, although two came against Man Utd. We do hope this is an entertaining affair, with plenty of goalmouth action, but we do hesitate to predict this being a tight match and one that could be decided by the odd goal.

Match Odds:

Manchester City – 19/10 PaddyPower

Arsenal – 13/8 SkyBet

Draw – 9/4 PaddyPower

SoccerBetting Tip: Arsenal / Draw (HT/FT Betting) – 14/1 Bet365