Etihad set up for a humdinger
Titanic clash between first and third as arsenal visit Manchester city
Beingtoutedbysomeasa title-defining clash, Arsenal’s visit to Manchester City tomorrow could well have a huge bearing on just where the Premier League will end up in May.
But it won’t decide who triumphs in the world’s most celebrated football league. It’s too early for that.
The Gunners will start the game a single point ahead of the champions and take note of how Liverpool fare against Brighton and Hove Albion in an earlier kick-off.
As things stand, Arsenal and the Anfield side are equal on points, albeit with the Gunners ahead on goal difference.
The international breaks are a favourite of many a club manager, and City’s Pep Guardiola will be cursing his luck.
His England international defenders Kyle Walker and John Stones sustained injuries against Brazil and Belgium, respectively, and could yet miss the clash tomorrow.
It appears Stones may be absent altogether, but Walker might get to come on in the second half, if not in the starting XI.
The fitness of Switzerland’s Manuel Akanji was also a concern of City’s, after he withdrew from their national squad.
He did, however, train in Manchester on Thursday and could yet feature for the Citizens.
Guardiola will have been pleased to see Ederson back in training. The Brazilian goalkeeper missed City’s FA Cup win over Newcastle prior to the international break.
Seeking an unprecedented fourth straight league title, City should also have Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne in the side to take Arsenal.
The former picked up a knock while on international duty, while the latter pulled out before the friendlies, citing an injury concern.
England’s Bukayo Saka and Brazilians Gabriel Magalhaes and Gabriel Martinelli were Arsenal’s injury worries, but they appear to be ready for City.
And regardless of who might and might not play, the coming together of these sides tomorrow should provide us with a cracker of a game.
The intensity will only be heightened by what’s at stake. And given how Arsenal let things slip towards the end of last season when they looked in control, and with a healthy cushion at the top of the table, Mikel Arteta will be hell-bent on avoiding a similar outcome.
Indeed, the Gunners have been sharp in recent weeks, and if the international break does not adversely affect them, they might yet see off City.
But the champions’ experience and the depth of talent in their squad tip the scales, however slightly, in Man City’s favour.
And it’s for that reason that more than a few believe they will edge tomorrow’s clash by an odd goal.
Man United, who so famously knocked Liverpool out of the FA Cup quarterfinals a fortnight ago, will be expected to sweep past Brentford rather easily.
Man United’s win over the Reds was a pulsating match, one of the best across all competitions this season, and it would be folly of them to go lowly on Brentford and come unstuck.
Wolves, who have again been punching above their weight this season, will do well to take a point off Aston Villa at Villa Park.
Up to ninth in the league standings and having won three of their last four games, Wolves are no pushovers under Gary O’neil and should give fourthplaced Villa a good run for their money.
But that fixture should come nowhere near what we expect will unfold at the Etihad tomorrow – a clash between first and third on the log.