Premier League: Arsenal v Manchester City betting preview, free tips,TV detaills

Football tips, best bets and predictions for Arsenal v Manchester City in the Premier League.

Where to watch

Sky Sports Premier League and Main Event, 4.30pm Sunday

Best bet

Man City win & both teams to score
1pt 7-5 BoyleSports
Back this tip with William Hill

Team news

Arsenal
Nicolas Pepe (knee) and Hector Bellerin (thigh) will be assessed and Granit Xhaka (concussion), Kieran Tierney (shoulder), Dani Ceballos (hamstring), Rob Holding (knee) are out.

Manchester City
Sergio Aguero (thigh), John Stones (unspecified injury), Aymeric Laporte and Leroy Sane (both knee) are out but David Silva (knock) may return.

Match preview

Manchester City are falling well below the standards they set in the last two seasons but they have not failed to win in successive Premier League games since December 2018 and are unlikely to slip up against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium.

Over the last two seasons City have achieved levels of excellence and consistency beyond any previous Premier League champions.

But there has been a dramatic dip in their performances and if any points are dropped this weekend, City will no longer be able to match last season's 98-point tally.

They look out of contention in the title race and they need to be careful because the next three matches - away to Arsenal, away to Wolves and at home to Leicester - are far from straightforward.

The easiest of those games could be against the Gunners, who are not living up to their big-six status.

Arsenal ended a nine-match winless sequence, their longest since 1977, by coming from behind to win 3-1 at West Ham on Monday.

But for 59 minutes at the London Stadium they looked every bit as poor as they had been over the previous six weeks.

Confidence rose after Gabriel Martinelli's equalising goal which was swiftly followed by strikes from Nicolas Pepe and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

But Arsenal's impressive end to the game was assisted by the mental fragility of the Hammers, who are simply not used to winning games.

City will be a completely different proposition and are often at their most dangerous when seeking to recover from a setback.

Losing the Manchester derby was a huge blow to their pride and ambition but City showed the mentality of a big club by responding with a hugely impressive 4-1 victory at Dinamo Zagreb on Wednesday.

It was a match of far greater importance to the Croatians, who needed three points to qualify for the knockout stage, but the greater hunger, desire and quality was shown by City who wrapped up the points with a stylish performance.

Gabriel Jesus starred with a superb hat-trick and Phil Foden seized a rare opportunity with an accomplished performance and a goal – his second in Champions League competition.

Pep Guardiola looked on with some satisfaction and has a few decisions to make because his midweek team – featuring eight changes from the Manchester derby – played a lot better than his first-choice side.

City's squad strength should ensure they have a decent Christmas period but there are questions about Arsenal, who look short of quality in defence and midfield.

The Gunners have not kept a clean sheet in 13 matches and Freddie Ljungberg has chopped and changed at the back, deploying a different centre-back partnerships in each of his five matches at the helm.

Such inconsistency of selection is not helping and it is hard to imagine the Swede stumbling on the right formula against City.

Bernd Leno will have to steel himself for a busy afternoon and is unlikely to prevent an away victory.

However, City have looked defensively suspect themselves and are unlikely to shut out the Gunners, who have scored in all of their 26 home games this year.