Manchester City have all the momentum right now in the Premier League title race. The Sky Blues also have numerous advantages over Arsenal in the quasi-league title game on Sunday afternoon/evening. City has the much shorter injury concern list -Nico O’Reilly, John Stones, Ruben Dias and Josko Gvardiol- as well as the home pitch advantage.
Plus they are much better rested, having not played a Champions League match in midweek, and they still have a game in hand on the Gunners.
Arsenal FC at Manchester City FYIs
Kickoff: Sunday April 19, 4:30pm, Etihad Stadium
Team News: Arsenal Part 1 Arsenal Part 2 Manchester City
Starting XI Predictions: Arsenal FC Manchester City
Google Result Probability: Arsenal FC 22% Manchester City 52% Draw 26%
PL Standing: Arsenal FC 1st, 70 pts Manchester City 2nd, 64 pts
PL Form: Arsenal FC WWWWL Manchester City WWDDW
Man City Team News
No wonder the oddsmakers and prediction markets are in favor of them this weekend.
The trio of Stones, O’Reilly and Dias are all in contention to feature this weekend. You can place each member of the triad in the “minor doubt” category. And given the extreme magnitude of this game, they won’t miss out unless they absolutely have to. Stones has been dealing with a nagging calf muscle injury, suffered while on international duty with England last month.
Meanwhile Dias suffered a hamstring injury in the UCL loss to Real Madrid while O’Reilly encountered the same problem this past weekend, in the win over Chelsea. With the former, the timeline matches up for a return here. With the latter, the issue is thought to be minor.
Gvardiol is still recovering from a tibial fracture that he suffered jsut after New Year’s. He’s getting closer, but this match comes a couple weeks too soon for him.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network, Ratings and RG. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes and the Washington Post.