Manchester City v Arsenal tips: Premier League best bets and preview
Manchester City have a great recent record against Arsenal, and Jake Osgathorpe sees no reason to think this meeting will be any different.
Football betting tips: Premier League
2pts Manchester City to win and Under 3.5 Goals at 11/10 (General)
Manchester City hammered Norwich last weekend – as expected – before having a midweek off and being rewarded with yet another ‘kind’ draw in the Carabao Cup third round.
Pep Guardiola’s side looked to be at their best against the Canaries, but it was only Norwich so we can’t draw too many conclusions (sorry Norwich), though their performance against Tottenham was not at all as bad as many pundits would lead you to believe.
Spurs did look a threat on the counter-attack in that game, but Man City were missing key players and still managed to create three big chances and 2.41 xGF.
Last season, it was their defence that was the springboard for success, allowing just 0.87 xGA per game, and that level looks to have continued – albeit with limited sample size.
When we look at their results against the ‘big six’ last season, Manchester City won five of 10, with eight of those 10 games seeing UNDER 3.5 GOALS.
Pep’s side tended to play cautiously in those games, adopting a controlled manner rather than attempting to blow their opponents out of the water.
Arsenal are a team who could easily get blown out at the Etihad, with the Gunners deserving to lose more heavily at home to Chelsea last weekend according to expected goals (xG: ARS 0.68 – 3.17 CHE).
While they hammered West Brom 6-0 in the Carabao Cup in midweek, getting their first win and first goals of the season, they were playing against a second-string Baggies team. We can’t read much into that result or performance.
Mikel Arteta is still under extreme pressure, and while this may be seen as a ‘free hit’, it could be a case of damage limitation, with there being a very real possibility that the Gunners are winless through three league games.
While they have played Brentford and Chelsea without key attacking players, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette both out with COVID, they offered little in their attacking patterns to suggest they could cause strong defensive teams many issues.
And that is what Manchester City are – a strong defensive side.
On the other side of the ball, the Gunners have looked weak and easy to play against, with both Brentford and Chelsea in effect bullying them physically. Now they have to deal with the mental torture that City will inflict.
All in all, it’s hard to see Arsenal getting a result at the Etihad, but I can’t see City racking up a massive win, so MANCHESTER CITY TO WIN AND UNDER 3.5 GOALS appeals at odds against.
Arsenal haven’t beaten Manchester City in the league since 2015, with City winning nine of the last 10, and all of the last eight meetings, including keeping clean sheets in six of the last seven head-to-heads.
City usually stroll past Arsenal, and this time around should be no different.
Manchester City v Arsenal best bets and score prediction
- 2pts Manchester City to win and Under 3.5 Goals at 11/10 (General)
Score prediction: Manchester City 2-0 Arsenal (Sky Bet odds: 5/1)
Odds correct at 1115 BST (24/08/21)
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