Arsenal vs. Man City Prediction, Statistics, Preview & Betting Picks
Arsenal vs. Man City predictions – 11:30am ET
Soccer writer Sam Farley takes a look at Sunday's biggest Premier League game between Arsenal and league leaders, Manchester City.
Key Arsenal vs. Man City Statistics:
- Man City have won their past 12 league games
- Man City have won 9 of their past 10 games against Arsenal
- Man City have scored 3+ goals in their past 3 Premier League games
- Arsenal haven't lose in their past 6 home league games
Arsenal vs. Man City Expert Picks
1U – Man City to win to nil @ +165 (Click To Bet)
Saturday's Merseyside derby is the game of the weekend but Arsenal v Man City looks, at least on paper, like a close second.
Man City lead the Premier League lead the league by 10 points but their opposition here are improving with almost every league game. Earlier in the season it looked like Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta was set for the chop but his team has gradually begun to put in better performances domestically. They're unbeaten in their past 6 games and that success has largely been built on a defense which is one of the meanest in the league. Despite sitting tenth in the league there are only three teams with better defensive records than the Gunners, they are Chelsea, Aston Villa and Sunday's opponent, Man City.
The issue has been a scoring goals, something that we haven't really associated with Arsenal in the past two decades. They're the lowest scoring team in the top half of the Premier League, something which could be an issue when they welcome Man City into town.
Man City's have taken a leap this season and that is largely down to their defense. The addition of Ruben Dias has been a vital one. The Portuguese is the best CB currently playing in the league and his brute strength and no-nonsense style are a departure for Pep Guardiola. Since Guardiola arrived in Manchester he's utilized players in that position who are primarily known for being good on the ball. The one exception to this is Nicolas Otamendi who didn't set the league alight. Dias' approach has helped steady John Stones who is experiencing his best ever season. City manage to defend brilliantly for two reasons, firstly they now have great players there, but secondly they manage to strangle the opposition with possession. Attack is the best form of defense is an old adage but one which certainly applies to this team.
Guardiola is the best manager in the country and he's up against his protege Mikel Arteta, who was previously his assistant at City. Nobody will be more familiar with the weaknesses of this City team, and any potential achilles heel, but I don't think that his team will be able to score against this team, who have conceded just 15 goals in the Premier League all season.
City are -185 and there's no value in betting on that. I'm choosing to take City to win to nil at a far better price. I did toy with the idea of taking City -1 at +155 but you get marginally better odds with this and I think Arteta will do a fairly good job of stopping City's attacks, meaning that this could finish as a 1-0 win to City.
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Sunday Premier League Picks
Feel free to follow my other leans for Saturday
West Ham v Tottenham - 7:00am - Draw @ +240
Aston Villa v Leicester City - 9:05am - Both teams to score @ -150
Man Utd v Newcastle - 2:00pm - Man Utd -1 @ -125
Sunday Premier League Parlay
A $20 parlay of all of today's bets would return over $512 if you bet with Bet365!