Manchester City vs. Arsenal: Picks, Predictions, Odds and Player Props

A clash of last season’s top two is the highlight of the fifth round of Premier League fixtures as Arsenal head to the Etihad Stadium to face Manchester City.

In this fixture last season, the Gunners left with a point after shutting up shop for a goalless draw during the run-in.

It seemed like a good result at the time but Mikel Arteta was made to count the cost of that negative approach when City won their remaining nine matches to stay two points clear of Arsenal in the final reckoning.

Arteta will be without skipper Martin Odegaard this Sunday as the Norwegian misses the clash against his free-scoring countryman, Erling Haaland, through injury.

But Declan Rice returns from suspension to renew rivalries with City’s midfield maestro Rodri - the pair having last locked horns in the Euro 2024 Final.    

Manchester City vs. Arsenal betting picks and predictions

Manchester City Over 4.5 Shots on Target (-138)

Pep Guardiola’s side managed a combined total of only one shot on target across their two Premier League encounters with Arsenal last season. 

That incredible stat enabled the Gunners to take four points from the clashes and keep clean sheets in both.

City also began the season quite slowly in terms of taking shots with only 11 recorded in total against Chelsea and 13 against newly-promoted Ipswich.

However, their ratio of shots on target was close to 50 percent against the Blues and they scored with all four of their efforts on target against Ipswich, so there is still no doubting the quality of the champions’ forward men.

Guardiola’s men are gradually improving with eight shots on target on matchday three at West Ham and seven in last weekend’s 2-1 win over Brentford.

They can ensure Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya is kept busy in Sunday’s game — as he was in last Sunday’s North London derby when he faced five Tottenham shots on target.

Man City - Under 1.5 Team Goals (-125)

But the quality of shots that Raya has been facing since he fully established himself as the Gunners’ first-choice goalkeeper last season suggests Arsenal will not concede many times in this clash.

Arsenal’s expected goals against (27.9) was the lowest in the Premier League last term - and they were better than City in this regard (35.6) by a statistically significant margin.

Arteta’s side have the fourth-best expected goals against figure four games into this campaign, which would suggest their defence is on track to be solid again.

Since a 4-3 win at Luton early last season, the Gunners have conceded fewer than two goals in 12 of their 14 away Premier League fixtures.

That suggests they could be equipped to keep City’s myriad attacking talents at bay on Sunday.

Declan Rice to be booked (+350)

Rice was booked twice in the space of seven minutes the last time he played in the Premier League.

The England star will be asked to cover a lot of ground and disrupt Manchester City’s flow as much as possible on his return from the one-match suspension his red card against Brighton incurred.

That will put him in the firing line of referee Michael Oliver, who has issued an average of 5.25 yellow cards per game this season.

Rice had better watch out - he has been carded in each of his last two matches when Oliver has been the man in the middle.

Arsenal - Over 3.5 Team Corners  (-163)

The Gunners racked up a decent amount of corners in their games against Manchester City last season - four at the Etihad Stadium and five at the Emirates.

That may not sound like a lot but City’s opponents averaged only 3.4 corners per game against them across the whole campaign.

Without Odegaard’s influence in the middle, Arsenal might be more inclined to focus on breaking City down in the wide areas on Sunday.

They earned six corners against Tottenham last weekend to boost their average for the season up to 4.5.

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Manchester City vs. Arsenal odds

Manchester City	-134
Tie	+260
Arsenal	+375

Manchester City vs. Arsenal player props

Anytime Goalscorer

Erling Haaland	+120
Phil Foden	+260
Bukayo Saka	+400
Gabriel Jesus	+400
Kevin De Bruyne	+400
Kai Havertz	+450

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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.