Sunday brings about arguably one of the biggest games of the season so far. It's Manchester City at home to Arsenal, with both managers needing a win totry and keep pace with the seemingly unstoppable league leaders,Chelsea.
Antonio Conte's men have won the last 10 in a row and have blitzed their way to the Premier League summit, leaving City and Arsenal trailing in their wake.
With the right result however, the table could make much better reading for one of these sides come Sunday teatime. A win for Pep Guardiola's men will see them leapfrog the Gunners, but a win for Arsene Wenger might take them above Liverpool into second.
Wenger's side slipped to only their second league defeat of the season against Everton on Tuesday and will no doubt still be hurting from the nature of that defeat, having taken the lead through star man Alexis Sanchez. City on the other hand will be looking to make it-back-to-back wins after beating Watford 2-0 a day later. Goals from Pablo Zabaleta and David Silva eased a bit of pressure on Pep, after coming under-fire for an indifferent past month of results.
It should be a cracker at the Etihad, with this fixture yielding some memorable encounters and plenty of goals *cue 0-0 stalemate...*
This fixture has certainly delivered entertainment over the years. Many fans will be quick to remember the nine goal thriller between the sides in 2013. Or that cheeky chip from Robinho in 2008 when City won 3-0.
More recently though, fans will probably remember the last time these sides met, in May earlier this year. The game finished 2-2 after Arsenal twice came from behind.
With Leicester City already confirmed as champions, the two sides found themselves in the same positions as they are currently. The draw meant an uncomfortable finish to the season for City, with neighbours United breathing down their necks for the final Champions League spot.
Manuel Pellegrini's farewell home game saw Sergio Aguero and Kevin De Bruyne put City in front on two occasions before being pegged back by Olivier Giroud and Alexis Sanchez.
Raheem Sterling vs Hector Bellerin
This could be one of the clashes of the season. Sterling has operated down the City left on numerous occasions but will face a tough afternoon against Bellerin. The clash brings together two of the Premier League's top speed demons and it will be interesting to see who comes out on top. Blink and you'll miss it!
Granit Xhaka and Francis Coquelin vs Kevin De Bruyne and David Silva
Centre midfield could be where the game is won and lost. If Xhaka and Coquelin can keep De Bruyne and Silva quiet, Arsenal could well steal the points at the Etihad. The two attacking stars could well run rings around the defensive duo though, with Kevin De Bruyne in particular a dynamic threat capable of dribbling his waythrough Arsenal's core.
Team NewsManchester CityCity will be without Gundogan after it was confirmed he sustained a dreaded anterior cruciate ligament injury against Watford. Fernandinho will miss out for the last of his game due to suspension but Vincent Kompany is expected to miss the rest of the year through injury. Sergio Aguero is suspended for two more games.ArsenalThere are no fresh injury concerns for the Gunners for the Etihad clash. Shkodran Mustafi will miss out again as he recovers from the hamstring injury he picked up against Stoke. Aaron Ramsey, Danny Welbeck, Per Mertesacker and Santi Cazorla are all still unavailable through injury.
Predicted Line Ups
Manchester City (4-5-1):Bravo/Zabaleta/Sagna, Otamendi, Kolarov/Navas, de Bruyne, Toure, Silva, Sterling/Nolito.
Arsenal (4-2-3-1):Cech/Bellerin, Koscielny, Gabriel, Monreal/ Coquelin, Xhaka/Walcott, Ozil, Oxlade-Chamberlain/Sanchez.
Prediction:As has been the case on many occasions between these two sides, there ought to be goals at the Etihad. Sanchez is bang in form and could cause many problems for a City defence that have only kept three clean sheets all season.
With either Kolarov or Sagna partnering Otamendi at centre-half, it could be a field day once again for the Chilean. With no Aguero up top for City, or Fernandinho to put out fires, Arsenal could well become the third team from London to inflict defeat on Guardiola's men. They will be out to bounce back from the shock defeat to Everton.
PREDICTED SCORE: 1-2 Arsenal.