Manchester City v Arsenal Betting Markets
Manchester City's season was potentially in tatters after that 5-1 aggregate defeat at the hands of Real Madrid which sent them out of the Champions League. However, they have since turned things around in style. A 2-0 win at Wembley saw Pep Guardiola's side land their first piece of silverware and it was Arsenal whom they were able to beat at the national stadium.
Then came a 4-0 FA Cup success against Liverpool where City were once again able to flex their attacking muscle, with the latest act being a 3-0 success at Stamford Bridge in the Premier League. A combined nine goals scored and none conceded suggests that they can now overcome Arsenal for the second time in the space of a few weeks.
The bookies make City the likely winners. The betting odds of 1.80 imply that Pep Guardiola's side have a greater than 50% chance of landing a success. They will be going all out for a victory and have the advantage of a full week of preparation. This is compared to Arsenal having gone through the mill when facing Sporting in the Champions League on Wednesday night.
City have won eleven of their fifteen home matches this season and will face a Gunners side whose season is threatening to unravel. However, they have only lost twice on the road and can be confident of being strong defensively in this Sunday clash. The worrying element is that they've lost three of their past four games and the wheels are starting to fall off.
They need to find a way of getting a positive result here or the Premier League title will potentially be out of their hands. Gabriel Martinelli, Kai Havertz and Noni Madueke were all hooked early in the second half and there might be a temptation to select the likes of Eberechi Eze and Max Dowman in a game of huge importance.
Goals Under/Over
Over 2.5 Goals is trading as the marginal favourite from the two options. Can we be confident that three or more will be scored at the Etihad Stadium? A game such as this one might be a cagey affair and let's not forget that Manchester City have won their previous three matches without conceding.
Arsenal games don't have a habit of featuring Over 2.5 Goals in the past few weeks. Two of the past seven encounters in all competitions have involved Under 2.5 Goals and we know that the Gunners would take a draw from this tricky trip to the Etihad Stadium.
City are clearly full of goals right now, although they only beat Arsenal 2-0 at Wembley and might be nullified in the early exchanges of this title decider. We think Under is the actual value based on the prices.
BTTS
There's not a huge amount in the BTTS Yes and BTTS No prices when it comes to this showdown. The teams played out a 1-1 draw at the Emirates where Erling Haaland put Manchester City into a 1-0 lead and this lasted until a late Gabriel Martinelli equaliser. At Wembley, it was BTTS No where Arsenal had a few half-chances in the Carabao Cup final before City were at the double to win 2-0.
Arsenal have found the net in their past three matches, although the goals have certainly dried up. They beat Everton and Bayer Leverkusen 2-0 in consecutive home matches before drawing a blank at Wembley and only scoring one at St Mary's in a surprise FA Cup defeat. There was then a slender 1-0 win in Portugal before the recent 2-1 reverse against Bournemouth.
Mikel Arteta might be more focused on stopping Manchester City scoring than his team fashioning a wealth of scoring chances. Their only goal against the Cherries came when Viktor Gyokeres converted a penalty and there's now a concern when it comes to open play opportunities and this team.
First Goalscorer
Erling Haaland remains the division's top scorer this season, although the Norwegian's goal rate has slowed down in recent months. He hasn't scored a Premier League goal since 11 February when notching in a 3-0 win over Fulham. Since then, the former Borussia Dortmund striker has failed to find the net in the past four top-flight encounters.
He did manage a recent FA Cup hat-trick against Liverpool and will be on penalties here, although there could be merit in looking elsewhere. Antoine Semenyo is a lock to start the game and the former Bournemouth man is worth considering. Rayan Cherki seems to be an assists magnet and perhaps we should look at him to create at least one goal here.
Nico O'Reilly has nine goals for the campaign and six of them have come since 11 February, with Jeremy Doku and Marc Guehi also finding the net at Stamford Bridge.
For Arsenal, we think Viktor Gyokeres could be the best option although it's notable that Eberechi Eze has an eye for the spectacular. The former Palace man might be capable of a long-range effort and perhaps Declan Rice will be step up to the plate and show that he can get an important goal.