2 weeks Ago By Joe Brophy
Manchester City face their first real test of the new Premier League season in a blockbuster showdown with Arsenal this weekend. The two clubs have gone toe-to-toe over the past two seasons in the title race, but Pep Guardiola has had the edge over his former assistant, Mikel Arteta , on both occasions. City remain the team to beat again this term with an unrivalled four wins from four sitting them top of the Premier League.
Arsenal are just two points adrift and could leapfrog the champions with a victory - but their last triumph at the Etihad was in 2015. To put that into context, Arteta was still a player for the Gunners, but the Spaniard did manage to go unbeaten against City last season. Arsenal matched the Cityzen's result in their Champions League opener this week, with goalless draws against Atalanta and Inter Milan respectively.
This Premier League clash will take place on Sunday, September 22. Kick-off at the Etihad Stadium is scheduled for 4:30pm. The game will be broadcast live on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Premier League.
talkSPORT will have the goals as they go in on the Sunday Session with Sam Matterface , while talkSPORT.com will also keep you updated with our dedicated Premier League live blog HERE . To tune in to talkSPORT or talkSPORT 2 through the website, click HERE for the live stream .
You can also listen via the talkSPORT app , on DAB digital radio, through your smart speaker and on 1089 or 1053 AM. The hosts are sweating on the fitness of talisman Kevin De Bruyne , who suffered a groin injury against Inter Milan on Wednesday. The Belgian was brought off at half-time, with Guardiola remaining coy over his fitness , with Nathan Ake and Oscar Bobb both out.
Erling Haaland has one final game to match Cristiano Ronaldo's stunning record for the least games taken to score 100 goals - with Sunday set to be his 105th appearance. Arsenal meanwhile will be without captain Martin Odegaard , who is set for an extended period on the sidelines with an ankle injury . The Norwegian joins Kieran Tierney , Mikel Merino, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Takehiro Tomiyasu in the treatment room.
Declan Rice is available again after suspension, with Raheem Sterling pushing to make his first Arsenal start against his former side. Emmanuel Petit says his former club Arsenal must go in with a mindset to win when they play City on Sunday. When asked on talkSPORT how Arsenal should play at the Etihad Stadium, he said: “I don’t want to see the same game I’ve seen last season at the Etihad where they were defending.
.. it was amazing.
Just like they did against Spurs yesterday, they defended very well. “They didn’t give any inches on the pitch. They didn’t give any occasion to Manchester City to score a goal.
“But with Erling Haaland , he’s on the top of the [world]. “So if you want to go over there and you want to bring something, you need to get something different to what happened last season. “I mean, we will see who is going to be injured.
I think [Martin] Odegaard is still injured. But I think you need to go over there with a prepared mentality to win.” Saturday, September 21 Sunday, September 22 *odds subject to change, 18+ gambleaware.
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