Man City vs. Arsenal Prediction, Odds and Best Bets for Premier League Week 5

Can Pep Guardiola and Man City keep their win streak alive against their biggest title challengers?

Kyle Robertson-Imagn Images

The biggest fixture of English football in the last couple of years is obviously the biggest game of the season so far. On Sunday, Manchester City will host Arsenal to have a chance to build a five-point lead over their most important challengers. 

Man City is off to a red-hot start, futher proving that they are the team to beat in the Premier League. At the same time, Arsenal has looked solid and sharp, especially on the defensive end, to start the season. 

Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta hasn’t had much luck against his mentor Pep Guardiola. He is 1-7-1 in nine Premier League games as a manager against Guardiola’s City. Despite staying in the title race until the end for the past two seasons, Manchester City has come out on top each time.

Arteta knows that if he is going to take over Man City in a title race, he needs to do better in the head-to-head matchups since City under Guardiola rarely struggles against the rest of the league, especially after they hit their stride mid-season. Therefore, he can’t afford to fall behind five points this early in the season. 

Neither side played their best game of the season in their Champions League fixtures mid-season, both teams being involved in goalless draws against their Italian counterparts. It was obvious that they both had Sunday’s game in mind. 

City has the rest advantage as they played at home on Wednesday while Arsenal was on the road against Atalanta on Thursday. That could be a big difference-maker especially with the Gunners being depleted in the midfield, with Martin Odegaard still out with an injury. 

Man City vs. Arsenal Odds and Total

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook. 

Moneyline:

Man City: -120 

Draw: +260

Arsenal: +340

Total Goals: 

Over 2.5: -105

Under 2.5: -125

Both Teams to Score: 

Yes: -125 No: -105

Man City vs. Arsenal How to Watch

• Date: Sunday, September 22
• Time: 11:30 a.m. EST
• Venue: Etihad Stadium, Manchester, UK
• How to Watch (TV): NBC Sports, USA, Telemundo, Fubo TV

Man City vs. Arsenal Prediction and Pick

Both coaches would obviously love to win on Sunday but if they were offered a draw in the beginning of the game, they would be hard-pressed to turn it down. Arsenal wouldn’t mind being down only one game in the standings with their road game against City in the rearview mirror and City would keep their top place in the standings with a draw. 

The way these two teams have been playing to start the season sets us up for a gritty, low-scoring affair with a draw being the most likely outcome. Last year, in the two Man City-Arsenal games in the Premier League, a total of one goal was scored, with both teams limiting the other well. 

Arsenal only conceded one goal in five competitive games this season and their defense looks as good as it has looked under Arteta. Man City hasn’t struggled to score thanks to Erling Haaland’s elite form but they weren’t able to break the press and create too many openings in their last two games against Brentford and Inter.

This will especially be the case again if Kevin De Bruyne misses the game. The star midfielder was subbed off at halftime due to an injury on Wednesday and his status is in doubt according to Guardiola.

Man City will dominate possession as usual but shouldn’t be able to create too many chances against the compact Arsenal defense. A 0-0 or a 1-1 draw might be in the cards. Under 2.5 goals at -125 could be a solid pick here too but let’s take a risk. 

Pick: Draw +260

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Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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