Manchester City face Arsenal on Sunday, just three weeks after drawing to Liverpool in another huge match in the title race.

Despite missing the chance to go top at Anfield, Man City are expected to take this opportunity against their other title rival. The Citizens have won seven successive home matches against Arsenal in the League with an aggregate scoreline of 21-4 in the favour of the Sky Blues.

In fact, Arsenal’s last point at the Etihad came in Mikel Arteta’s last season for the Gunners, before he joined Pep Guardiola’s coaching staff.

Arsenal have a massive job to do but they finally defeated Pep’s City side in the league back in October thanks to a deflected strike from Gabriel Martinelli. Alongside their Community Shield win over City back in August in addition to them now being top of the table, Arteta will know that a win on Sunday massively swings their title hopes.

Manchester city team news

Manchester City certainly haven't had the best luck in the recent international break as five of their players have come back injured. Manuel Akanji, John Stones, Kyle Walker, Bernardo Silva, Ruben Dias and Bernardo Silva couldn't complete the international break due to picking up injuries.

Six Man City players suffered injuries during the international break.

They play Arsenal and Real Madrid within the next 14 days 😮‍💨 pic.twitter.com/RIMgjoQinv

— ESPN UK (@ESPNUK) March 27, 2024

The two Portuguese players in Dias and Silva were sent home before their second game to recover and could still feature on the weekend.

Kyle Walker may not be able to make it after pulling up just 10 minutes into England’s game against Belgium. It would be a massive loss for Pep and Man City, especially with Arsenal’s attacking threat.

Ederson is another player that has picked up an injury, as he picked one up against Liverpool after colliding with Darwin Nunez. The goalkeeper missed Man City’s FA Cup tie against Newcastle and didn’t report for international duty. With the time he has had, it is expected that Ederson could return this weekend, but I wouldn’t bet on it

Arsenal team news

Arsenal's starboy, Bukayo Saka, was sent home by England after training on his own as he travelled with an injury. It has since been reported to be just a precaution, meaning the winger will likely make the squad for Arsenal on Sunday despite the news of him leaving the national team.

Gabriel Martinelli has been recovering from a cut he suffered against Sheffield United in Arsenal's 6-0 win at Bramall Lane. He has been in training throughout the international break and is set to return for the Gunners on the weekend. The last time Arsenal faced Man City Martinelli was also returning from injury, so maybe it's a good omen for the gunners.

Gabriel Magalhaes is another player from both sides to miss international duty despite a call-up. The defender had a suspected injury to his achilles and chose to stay with Arsenal to recover and has since trained with the club and is in contention to play on Sunday.

Jakub Kiwior has been a surprise regular for the Gunners since the turn of the year. The Polish defender has transitioned into a left back for Arsenal and hasn’t looked out of place in the side. Kiwior played all 120 minutes against Wales during Poland’s Euros qualifier so there is a question of fatigue for the defender but in the middle of a long season, it may only help the young defender.

Prediction

This match is incredibly hard to predict just because of the weight it holds in deciding the outcome of the title race. With so much on the line for both sides I fear, like in Liverpool's match against City three weeks ago, the sides will share the points. I am predicting a 1-1 draw between Man City and Arsenal, however, it is probably going to be one to watch no matter the scoreline.