Manchester City vs Arsenal (Premier League): Match Preview, Team News, Head to Head, How to Watch | OneFootball

Manchester City host Arsenal at the Etihad Stadium in a potentially title-defining Premier League showdown on Sunday afternoon, with kick-off scheduled for 16:30 BST.

City head into the fixture off the back of three successive wins, a Carabao Cup final victory over Arsenal, a 4-0 FA Cup quarter-final dismantling of Liverpool and a commanding 3-0 Premier League win at Chelsea last weekend, with momentum firmly behind Pep Guardiola’s side heading into arguably the biggest game of their season.

Arsenal arrive in Manchester six points clear at the top of the table but off the bak of a 2-1 defeat to Bournemouth at the Emirates Stadium last weekend, handing City the opportunity to close the gap to three points with a victory on Sunday.

Pep Guardiola described the fixture as a ‘final’ in his pre-match press conference on Friday, admitting the title race will effectively be over for City if they do not win.

Antoine Semenyo has rallied his teammates ahead of the game while Arsenal’s Declan Rice has insisted his side know what is required and issued his own defiant challenge.

Match Details

Manchester City host Arsenal at the Etihad Stadium in the Premier League on Sunday 19 April, with kick-off slated for 16:30 UK.

Match Officials

Anthony Taylor has been confirmed as the referee for Sunday’s fixture at the Etihad Stadium.

Check out the full list of match officials below!

Team News

For Manchester City, Ruben Dias remains sidelined with the hamstring injury he sustained before the Carabao Cup final in March.

Guardiola confirmed in his press conference that Dias is “not ready still” for Sunday. Josko Gvardiol continues his recovery from a tibial fracture sustained in January, while John Stones is also doubtful after picking up a calf problem during the international break.

On a more positive note, Guardiola confirmed that Nico O’Reilly, who was substituted with a hamstring concern during the 3-0 Chelsea win, is “fine” and available for selection.

Abdukodir Khusanov and Marc Guehi are expected to continue at centre-back, with Mateo Kovacic likely to start from the bench after coming on at Stamford Bridge.

For Arsenal, Noni Madueke hobbled off in the return leg of Arsenal’s UEFA Champions League quarter-final tie against Sporting Lisbon earlier this week but the Gunners are ‘hopeful’ of recalling the Englishman at the Etihad Stadium.

Bukayo Saka will be unavailable for Arsenal against Manchester City on Sunday, Arteta confirmed in a press conference on Friday.

The Arsenal manager added that “some players are quite close, we try to push everyone” when asked for fitness updates on injured trio Martin Odegaard, Jurrien Timber and Riccardo Calafiori.

Head to Head

The two sides met most recently at Wembley in March, with City winning 2-0 in the Carabao Cup final thanks to a brace of headers from Nico O’Reilly, a result that delivered City their first trophy in two seasons.

In the last Premier League meeting at the Etihad Stadium, City and Arsenal played out a 1-1 draw after Stones rescued a point in stoppage time.

Statistics

Manchester City have won 28 of their last 31 Premier League games in April under Pep Guardiola, averaging 2.50 points per game in the month – the highest rate of any manager in Premier League history over a single calendar month with 15 or more games played.

Arsenal have gone 22 years without winning the Premier League title – a fact Guardiola acknowledged explicitly in his press conference on Friday, calling it something that “makes them unique.”

How To Watch

For UK-based viewers, the match is available live on Sky Sports, with coverage beginning ahead of the 16:30 UK kick-off.

For viewers in the United States, the fixture kicks off at 11:30 EDT and can be streamed via USA Network.

City Xtra will have full live coverage throughout matchday across X, Facebook and Instagram, with content also available at cityxtra.co.uk.