The top two sides in the Premier League this season, Arsenal and Manchester City face each other in a gigantic clash in the fourth round of the FA Cup at the Etihad Stadium.
Pep Guardiola's side outclassed Chelsea 4-0 at home in the third round whereas Arsenal made sure of their advancement with a 3-0 away win against Oxford United.
MCI vs ARS Match Details
Date: Friday, 27 January 2023 / Saturday, 28 January 2023
Time: 21:00 (BST)/ 01:30 (IST)
Venue: Etihad Stadium, Manchester
MCI vs ARS Match Preview
Manchester City went back to their dominating ways by beating lowly Wolverhampton 3-0 in the Premier League last weekend. Erling Haaland bagged his fourth Premier League hat trick after going through a mini-scoreless streak before striking against Tottenham Hotspurs a game prior. Even though the win was coming against a 17th-placed side, Pep Guardiola's team reverted to their patient build-up, slowly stepping up their intensity and managing to keep a clean sheet for the first time since the 4-0 drubbing of Chelsea early this month in the FA Cup. Apart from these comfortable victories, Manchester City have largely struggled post-World Cup by losing to Southampton in the quarterfinals of the league cup and also lost to city rivals Manchester United in back-to-back games. They also won with a slender 1-0 margin against the Blues at Stamford Bridge in the league and had to unleash a miraculous turnaround against Spurs, coming from two-goal down in the first half to win 4-2 at home. Guardiola hopes the win against Wolves will give the steadiness required ahead of facing Premier League Leaders Arsenal in the fourth round tie of the FA Cup. They have the momentum on their side with winning in their last four home games in all competitions this season and also carrying a nine-game winning streak in FA Cup home matches. That being said, Manchester City have lost in their last two meetings against Arsenal in this competition and face a more elegant opposition than the previous sides. The league champions will try to use this game to remind the current leaders of the challenge they possess for the upcoming clash in the league next month.
Never before Manchester City have been eliminated from this round of the FA Cup but Arsenal will be hoping to break the Cityzen’s record to continue stamping their authority this season which has been incredible for them. The Gunners played out a thriller last weekend against City’s rivals Manchester United with Eddie Nketiah grabbing the all-important late winner in the 3-2 triumph. Arsenal went behind in the 24th minute through Marcus Rashford before responding brilliantly with their brilliant 22-year-old striker and taking the lead with Bukayo Saka’s stunning strike early in the second half. United responded again but nothing seems to prevent this side their mentality to snatch wins and eventually marching to the Premier League title. It is becoming possible day by day with a five points gap on top of the table becoming an increasing task for their closest challenger to topple. The 14 times FA Cup winner now wants to show they fear no one in the path and display their strength on Friday against the same side that has been a dominating force in English football for the last few years. Arsenal have failed to get past the fourth round of the FA Cup since 2017 but carries a five-game winning streak away from home with keeping a clean sheet in four. That could come in handy facing opposition of immense caliber early in the contest. Both managers have spoken about each other’s admiration in the build-up to the match although the title rivalry this season and the first test between the teams this season will have a different picture during the contest.
Recent Form (all competitions)
MCI: WWLLW
ARS: WWWDW
MCI vs ARS Predicted Lineups
MCI: Stefan Ortega; Kyle Walker, Manuel Akanji, Ruben Dias, Nathan Ake; Bernardo Silva, Rodri, De Bruyne; Riyad Mahrez, Erling Haaland, Jack Grealish
ARS: Matt Turner; Ben White, William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhaes, Oleksandr Zinchenko; Granit Xhaka, Thomas Partey; Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard, Gabriel Martinelli; Eddie Nketiah
MCI vs ARS Dream11 Team Prediction
GK: Turner (6)
DEF: Akanji (8.5), Dias (8), Gabriel (8.5), Zinchenko (8.5)
MID: Mahrez (8.5), De Bruyne (9), Odegaard (9), Saka (9)
FW: Nketiah (8), Haaland (9)
Vice-captain: Bukayo Saka
Captain: Erling Haaland
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