Manchester City will entertain Arsenal at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday evening looking to secure all three points from this home fixture. Pep Guardiola’s men were held to a 1-1 draw by Leeds United before the international break, so we can expect them to be eager to return to winning ways in the Premier League this weekend.
The Mancunian outfit could set themselves up in a 4-2-3-1 formation with Guardiola sweating on the fitness of Kevin De Bruyne, who picked up a knock while on international duty with Belgium.
4-2-3-1 Manchester City Predicted Lineup To Face Arsenal
Defence
Ederson will retain his spot in between the sticks for Man City after failing to earn a clean sheet in each of his past three starts in the English top-flight. Ruben Dias will once again operate alongside Aymeric Laporte at the centre of Guardiola’s defence as they look to stop Arsenal’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette from finding the back of the net on Saturday.
Kyle Walker is a nailed-on start at right-back while Benjamin Mendy plays on the other side as the left-back. Both full-backs will have to work hard defensively so that they can stop the Gunners from creating too many chances on the counter.
Both John Stones and Nathan Ake will be named on the bench as they wait for their opportunity to impress in the second half if required.
Midfield
Fernandinho and Rodri will anchor the Man City midfield and focus on producing a commanding performance collectively at the centre of the park. The talented trio of Phil Foden, Kevin De Bruyne and Riyad Mahrez will operate just ahead of them as part of the home team’s attack. All three playmakers will look to cause all sorts of problems for Mikel Arteta’s defenders in the final third this weekend.
De Bruyne is a major doubt for this game and might have to pass a late fitness test to start in this game. However, this match will come too soon for Ilkay Gundogan, who is still not ready to play for the Mancunian giants.
Attack
Raheem Sterling could get the nod to lead the line for Man City up top. He is a slight worry for this clash. Thus, Liam Delap will be on standby just in case the English speedster fails to recover in time for this encounter versus the North London outfit.
