Match Focus: Title Favourites Go Head to Head in Emirates Showdown

There’s little doubt as to the tie of the upcoming round of Premier League fixtures, though we have to wait until Monday night for the mouth-watering prospect of Arsenal vs Manchester City. The two teams are heavily tipped to fight it out for the title this season, currently occupying second and third spot respectively behind Leicester. The Gunners, however, have the chance to build a 4-point gap from their rivals with a win at the Emirates this time around.

Arsene Wenger’s men, and indeed Arsenal sides before that, have certainly had the better of this particular fixture. Indeed, Manchester City have just one win to their name away at Arsenal in the league in the last 40 years. You’d have to fancy the hosts on current form too.

Not only have Arsenal picked up 13 points from a possible 15 in their last 5 outings at the Emirates, but City are really floundering on the road and were given a scare by struggling Swansea last time out. Manuel Pellegrini’s men are without a win in 4 away matches, picking up just two points in that time and failing to score at all in their last three.

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The visitors will, however, likely have both Sergio Aguero and David Silva in the same side for only the fifth league game all season after both have struggled with injuries. City have won each of the previous four, scoring 13 goals, registering a 6-1 win the last time the pairing started the same game against Newcastle, with Silva assisting Aguero for two of the Argentine’s five goals on the day.

The issue for Pellegrini though, continues to come at the back, with captain Vincent Kompany still likely to remain sidelined. The difference between the solidity of the side with and without the Belgian has been stark, conceding just 1 goal in the 8 league games the 29-year old has started compared to a whopping 16 in the 8 he has missed.

As a result Arsenal’s forwards will be confident of keeping Joe Hart busy come Monday, with these two sides having averaged the most shots per game in the Premier League this season. One player that has contributed significantly to the hosts’ tally in that regard is Olivier Giroud, who will be aiming to score for the fourth successive game, netting 5 goals in his last three appearances. The Frenchman has caused City problems in the past too, scoring in each of his last two appearances against them, so he will certainly be worth keeping an eye on.

Four of the Arsenal striker’s last 5 league strikes have been the opening goal of the game, so Pellegrini’s men will need to be wary of Giroud’s threat from the off. As a result he may well be worth buying early on in the match markets with Buabook, snapping up shares south of the £0.60 mark and offloading at around twice that price if the frontman does find the net in the first half.

With the Arsenal striker in such fine form, and the potential return of Alexis Sanchez to supplement the extraordinary creative exploits of Mesut Ozil, City stand little chance of keeping what would be only their second clean sheet in 8 competitive matches. The much-maligned Eliaquim Mangala will be put to the test as a result.

Giroud’s international teammate started the season well alongside Kompany but has struggled since the captain’s injury and Wenger may pinpoint Mangala as an area of weakness on Monday. With Kompany likely to return before long, leaving Mangala’s first team opportunities limited, I would sell shares ahead of this game in the season market for £7.00.

After all, with so much attacking talent on display on both sides we should see goals at either end for the fourth time in the last 5 meetings between these two title hopefuls.

You can trade the values of any of the players on display as Arsenal host City with Buabook, the first player trading exchange based on detailed statistics