Premier League Preview: Manchester City Aims for Fifth Straight Win, Can Arsenal Escape Unscathed Amid Injury Woes?

On September 22 at 23:30, a key match of the fifth round of the 2024/25 Premier League season will take place at the Etihad Stadium, with Manchester City hosting Arsenal. This is the last game of this round, and currently, Manchester City and Arsenal are in second and fifth place on the leaderboard with 12 and 10 points respectively.

The clash between Manchester City and Arsenal is indeed a top-of-the-table battle, with the rivalry between the two teams from recent seasons continuing into the present. Perhaps wary of this crucial weekend showdown, both the Sky Blues and the Gunners drew their midweek Champions League matches — Manchester City was held to a goalless draw by Inter Milan at home, while Arsenal managed a point away against Atalanta thanks to Raya’s heroic performance.

Erling Haaland’s scoring streak and Manchester City’s winning run since the start of the season were both interrupted, but back in the league, Manchester City has the chance to become the first team in English football history to achieve five consecutive wins at the start of the Premier League season five times. In fact, Manchester City has won 13 straight games in the Premier League. From Guardiola’s recent comments, it is clear that the club is quite unhappy with the potential sanctions from the Premier League, which could serve as an important source of new motivation for the team.

Securing a point from the Gewiss Stadium in Bergamo was no easy feat for Arsenal, especially considering Atalanta’s triumphs over Liverpool and Bayer Leverkusen en route to winning the Europa League last season. Without Odegaard, Arsenal struggled, and Raya’s heroics were key to keeping them in the game.

Similar to Manchester City, Arteta’s Arsenal also has records to protect and break. Arsenal has now gone 11 consecutive Premier League away games without trailing, and just one more away game without conceding would set a new record. However, although Arsenal managed to slightly turn the tide against Manchester City with a 1-0 victory thanks to Martinelli’s goal last season, their last win at the Etihad Stadium against Manchester City dates back to January 2015 when Wenger was still in charge.

In terms of personnel, Guardiola and Arteta face similar issues. Manchester City may be without De Bruyne, who suffered a groin injury in the Champions League, although Guardiola did not rule out including his key player in the squad for the match against Arsenal at the press conference. Ake and Bob’s leg injuries do not seem to be improving quickly, and Foden could make his first start of the season.

Arsenal will aim to stay competitive despite the absence of captain Odegaard due to an ankle injury. The Norwegian will be joined in the treatment room by Merino (shoulder), Zinchenko (calf), Takehiro Tomiyasu (knee), and Tierney (hamstring). Fortunately, Arteta welcomes back Rice from suspension ahead of the big game, and Calafiori and Saka have overcome their injuries and are ready to play.

Given the lackluster offensive performances of both teams in the midweek Champions League matches, proving how crucial the absences of De Bruyne and Odegaard are, fans might brace themselves for a potentially dull game. Perhaps we can look forward to seeing how former Manchester City player Sterling performs in his first game against his old club in an Arsenal shirt.

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