On Sunday, title favourites Manchester City and Arsenal will clash at the Etihad Stadium in what promises to be a thrilling battle.
Who will take the lead in the title race? Last season, Arsenal demonstrated their progress by shutting out Manchester City twice, a 1-0 win at home and a goalless draw at the Etihad, but they fell just short in the title race for the second year in a row.
Watch Manchester City vs Arsenal live
Pep Guardiola’s City have won their first four Premier League games in a row to start their quest for a fifth straight title. Erling Haaland has already scored nine goals and two hat-tricks, but City’s frustrations grew in midweek. 0-0 draw at home to Inter Milan Real won their opening Champions League match and also suffered an injury blow, with Kevin De Bruyne being substituted at half-time.
Arsenal have a lot of injuries Captain Martin Odegaard will be out for at least the next few games. Arsenal have several injured players after an ankle injury and manager Mikel Arteta will have to rotate his players intelligently after Thursday’s Champions League win over Atalanta. Arsenal have picked up 10 points from their first four games and know they must perform strongly defensively to get anything out of this crucial fixture, as they did against Tottenham last weekend and in last season’s 0-0 draw.
How to watch Manchester City vs Arsenal live, stream links, start time
Kickoff time: Sunday (Sept. 22) at 11:30 a.m. ET
Venue: Etihad Stadium
TV Channel: USA Network
Streaming: Watch live on NBC.com
Manchester City highlights, team news
De Bruyne is an injury concern, with Oscar Bobb (lower leg) and Nathan Ake (hamstring) certain to miss out. Many of City’s key players are still regaining fitness after a busy international summer, with Guardiola getting the likes of Rodri, Phil Foden, Kyle Walker and John Stones settled into the season but still looking a bit out of form. City have plenty of options in attack and Guardiola likes to throw in a few surprises in these big games, especially as he knows Arteta well as his former assistant.
Arsenal highlights, team news
Odegaard’s absence will obviously be a big blow, but Rice and Partey will bolster the team in defensive midfield, and Jorginho could also start, providing Arsenal with defensive reinforcement and experience in the engine room. A back four of White, Gabriel, Saliba and Timber will be self-reliant, while Havertz, Saka and Trossard will start in attack, with Martinelli and Sterling vying for starts, and Sterling will be hoping to be the hero against his former club.
