Manchester City vs Arsenal betting tips
Draw and both teams to score – 17/4 QuinnBetRayan Cherki to score or assist – 6/4 Betway
Premier League leaders Arsenal travel to face Manchester City at the Etihad in the biggest game of the league season so faron Sunday.
The Gunners sit six points ahead of their title rivals as they travel up north for what is a defining fixture for both sides, with City able to cut the gap to just three points this weekend.
Pep Guardiola’s side have a game in hand to come against Crystal Palace – most likely in May – so a win this weekend would really put pressure on the Gunners, although the Cityzens are still regarded as outsiders with most betting sites ahead of the weekend.
But while Arsenal are still odds-on favourites to win a first Premier League title since 2004, they’ll have to do it the hard way starting with this weekend’s game, with the Gunners needing at least a draw to keep City at arm’s length.
The 2-1 loss to Bournemouth last week threatened to derail Mikel Arteta’s side, and while they battled into the Champions League semi-finals in midweek, they are still out of form as they make the trip up north. That is reflected in the odds for this weekend’s game, with the Gunners priced as high as 10/3 to win.
Conversely, City have found form in recent weeks and even beat the Gunners 2-0 in the Carabao Cup final last month, and the hosts are odds-on at 5/6 to win a potentially season-defining clash at the Etihad.
Manchester City vs Arsenal prediction: Gunners to play for draw once more?
They say that the biggest game is always the next one, but it’s hard to downplay just how significant this weekend’s match is as both sides attempt to find the three points that could decide the destination of this season’s Premier League title.
While it feels unlikely that either side will win all of their remaining matches, the momentum swing of a win for either one this weekend cannot be overstated, and with Guardiola’s side much more free-scoring than the Gunners, Arteta will not want to potentially leave the title down to goal difference.
Fortunately for City, they have found some form in recent weeks, beating Arsenal 2-0 in the League Cup final and arriving at the Etihad off the back of a 4-0 win over Liverpool and a 3-0 victory over Chelsea.
However, it’s not all been rosy at the Etihad, with the Cityzens having fallen to two losses and two draws over their last 10 games.
Arsenal are in the middle of a similarly mixed run of form, with the Gunners having registered five wins, two draws and three losses across their last 10.
So while the narrative changed slightly after the Carabao Cup final, neither of these sides has really been in title-winning form in the last month or so, and it remains to be seen whether City’s recent results are just a flash in the pan too.
With so much on the line it’s likely to be a tense game at the Etihad, and with Arsenal well-versed in playing for the result under Arteta, it feels like the Gunners will come away with a point.
Though the visitors have kept five clean sheets in their last 10, we expect City to find the net on Sunday, though the Gunners will also cause the City defence trouble, and we expect a similar result to the 1-1 draw played out between these two in September with a solid price available on football betting sites.
Manchester City vs Arsenal prediction 1: Draw and both teams to score – 17/4 QuinnBet
Manchester City vs Arsenal tip: Cherki to star again
Summer signing Rayan Cherki has turned into City’s man of the moment in recent weeks, with the young Frenchman having become a more regular starter in that time.
He’s repaid Guardiola’s faith with assists against Liverpool and Forest and he was the main creator again last weekend, grabbing the assists for City’s first two goals as he almost single-handedly unlocked the Chelsea defence.
He’s now registered 10 assists in the Premier League in his debut season, and while he might want to be more of a goalscoring threat himself at times, he often gets to show just how useful he is in matches such as this weekend’s.
Arsenal still possess one of the best defences in world football and with the Gunners likely happy to sit back for long periods of the game, we can expect Cherki to play a key role in City’s attacking efforts as he looks to unlock a stern defence just as he did last week at the Bridge.
Manchester City vs Arsenal prediction 2: Rayan Cherki to score or assist – 6/4 Betway
Manchester City vs Arsenal team news
Manchester City vs Arsenal predicted line-ups
Man City XI: Donnarumma; Nunes, Khusanov, Guehi, O’Reilly; Silva, Rodri; Semenyo, Cherki, Doku; Haaland.
Arsenal XI: Raya; White, Gabriel, Saliba, Hincapie; Rice, Zubimendi, Eze; Madueke, Gyokeres, Martinelli.
Manchester City vs Arsenal betting offers
Paddy Power are running a 50/1 enhanced odds betting sign up offer for the Premier League title showdown between Manchester City and Arsenal on Sunday where only one goal needs to be scored to secure up to £50 in free bets.
To qualify for the betting offer, customers must use the link below and sign up for Paddy Power using the promo code YFBDGS before depositing £5 using an eligible payment method.
Next, place a maximum £1 stake on over 0.5 goals market at the normal odds in the Manchester City vs Arsenal match page.
If one goal is scored in the game, bettors will receive a cash payout at the normal odds, while the rest of the 50/1 odds are paid out in free bets to use on multis. Free bets are active for 30 days.
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