Arsenal vs Manchester City – Match preview and team news

In partnership with

The Football Faithful

·2 Februari 2025

Arsenal vs Manchester City – Match preview and team news

Arsenal welcome Manchester City to North London this afternoon in what promises to be an enthralling contest.

The Gunners advanced into the last 16 of the Champions League on Wednesday after a routine victory away to Girona.

Video OneFootball

First-choice goalkeeper David Raya is a doubt for the clash against the champions with a muscular issue. Ben White is yet to participate in training after a lengthy injury while Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Jesus remain out.

Manchester City 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 beat Arsenal to the title the last two seasons and they meet again on Sunday. League-leaders Liverpool, meanwhile... 🍿
– Sabtu, 1 Februari 2025

City scraped into the Champions League playoffs after coming from behind to beat Club Brugge 3-1 in Manchester.

January signings Omar Marmoush, Abdukodir Khusanov and Vitor Reis are available again after being ineligible in Europe.

Pep Guardiola confirmed that no injured players have recovered in time for the weekend. That means Nathan Ake and Ruben Dias will continue to miss out alongside Oscar Bobb, Rodri and Jeremy Doku.

Arsenal vs Manchester City – Match preview and team news

Form

Arsenal: WDWWW

Arsenal eased into the Champions League knockout stages with a 2-1 victory over already eliminated Girona.

Former Tottenham loanee Arnaut Danjuma put the hosts ahead before a Jorginho penalty and an Ethan Nwaneri stunner turned the game around.

Despite Raheem Sterling missing a spot-kick in the dying embers – the Gunners did enough to secure third place in the 36-team league.

Yesterday, Premier League leaders Liverpool extended the gap between themselves and Arsenal to nine points. Furthermore, Nottingham Forest moved level on points with Mikel Arteta’s side after a 7-0 demolition of Brighton. The pressure is on the North Londoners this afternoon.

Manchester City: DWLWW

Manchester City beat Chelsea and Club Brugge by the same scoreline over the last week.

Last Saturday, the Manchester club came from behind to beat Chelsea 3-1 at the Etihad to climb into the top four.

And on Wednesday night, the game followed an almost identical pattern to see the Cityzens progress into the Champions League playoffs.

A nervy Etihad Stadium watched on in horror as Raphael Onyedika put the visitors ahead just before the interval. At half-time, they were heading out of the competition.

City fought back in style as goals from Mateo Kovacic, Savinho and a Joel Ordonez own goal spared their blushes.

Pep Guardiola’s side will meet reigning champions Real Madrid in the next stage of Europe’s elite competition.

Last Meeting: Manchester City 2-2 Arsenal, Premier League, 22nd September 2024

Manchester City and Arsenal couldn’t be separated in the last enthralling encounter between the teams.

The contest commenced frenetically with Erling Haaland notching the hosts in front with a typically unerring finish.

Arsenal restored parity in stunning fashion as Riccardo Calafiori gorgeously swept in his first goal in English football from distance.

The momentum swung firmly in the visitors’ favour and Gabriel silenced the Etihad in first-half stoppage time with a powerful header.

However, the clash developed from a closely contested battle into a one-sided affair in the eighth additional minute. Just weeks after Declan Rice had been sent off for the same offence, Arsenal received another red card for delaying the restart.

Leandro Trossard was booked for kicking the ball away and with the Belgian already on a caution, Arsenal were reduced to 10 men.

That event initiated an utterly unique second half which was effectively defence versus attack. Arsenal committed the entirety of the team to defending their box, which frustrated the hosts as they struggled to manufacture a way through.

However, in the 98th minute, the Gunners’ resolve was dramatically breached. Following a last-gasp set piece, Mateo Kovacic’s strike deflected into John Stones’ path, who bundled in a late equaliser. The spoils were shared in Manchester after a clash that fascinated the viewer.

Predicted Lineups

Arsenal: Raya; Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Calafiori; Rice, Partey; Nwaneri, Odegaard, Martinelli; Havertz.

Manchester City: Ederson; Nunes, Stones, Akanji, Gvardiol; Kovacic, Bernardo Silva, De Bruyne; Foden, Marmoush; Haaland.

Who is the referee?

Peter Bankes will be the match official. Eddie Smart and Nick Greenhalgh will assist him while Anthony Taylor will be the fourth official. The VAR will be Paul Tierney and he will be assisted by Craig Taylor.