Manuel Pellegrini's men are ready to host the Gunners, in what is going to be an immensely important match in the race to secure a UEFA Champions League berth, at the Etihad Stadium. Manchester City are fresh off a couple of defeats and will want to end the season on a high.
Arsenal, on the other hand, are sitting in third place on the Premier League table, just one spot above Manchester City. The Citizens know a loss against Arsenal would give Manchester United the perfect opportunity to reclaim the fourth spot in the league standings and also the final Champions League spot.
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Manchester City:
A win against Arsenal tonight should be more than sufficient for Manchester City to qualify for the next year's Champions League campaign. However, the Manchester City manager, Manuel Pellegrini knows that a host of injuries won’t make tonight's encounter easy for the Citizens.
Manchester City's Belgian captain, Vincent Kompany has been ruled out of tonight's face-off after the 30-year-old central defender suffered a groin injury in the UEFA Champions League semi-final encounter against Real Madrid, a few nights back.
Moreover, the 62-year-old Chilean manager is also set to miss the services of David Silva, Pablo Zabaleta and Aleksandar Kolarov who are out of tonight's league match against Arsenal due to various injuries.
Arsenal:
Gunners manager, Arsene Wenger will be looking to seal the UEFA Champions League berth against Manchester City tonight at the Etihad and the 66-year-old Frenchman knows that a draw against the Citizens will do the trick for the North London football club.
Having said that, both Arsenal midfielder, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Gunners centre-back Per Mertesacker have been ruled out for the rest of the season due to a knee injury and a hamstring problem respectively.
Probable Lineups
Manchester City (4-2-3-1): Hart; Sagna, Otamendi, Mangala, Clichy; Fernandinho, Toure; Nasri, De Bruyne, Sterling; Aguero.
Arsenal (4-2-3-1): Cech; Monreal, Koscielny, Gabriel, Bellerin; Wilshere, Coquelin; Iwobi, Ozil, Sanchez; Welbeck.
Current Form
Manchester City:
Manchester City manager, Manuel Pellegrini rested a number of key footballers against Southampton in the Citizens’ last league outing. The 62-old-year Chilean rested the likes of Vincent Kompany, Kevin De Bruyne and Sergio Aguero as he was rightly focusing more on the club’s 2015-16 UEFA Champions League campaign.
That did not work out to his advantage as City not only lost to Real Madrid in midweek but also lost to Southampton as well.
Last 5 Matches: D-W-D-L-L (Last Match: Real Madrid 1-0 Manchester City)
Arsenal:
The Gunners has exhibited some fine form as the North London club has remained unbeaten in its last seven outings. Having peaked just at the right time, Arsene Wenger’s men have gone on to win four of the seven aforementioned games.
Arsenal had defeated Norwich City by 1-0 at the Emirates Stadium in the previous Premier League match.
Last 5 Matches: D-D-W-D-W (Last Match: Arsenal 1-0 Norwich City)
What the Managers have to say
Manchester City:
Manuel Pellegrini is set to play his final home match for Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium, later tonight. The Chilean manager sounded quite emotional in the pre-match press conference and here is what he had to say:
“It's a special game because we finish here (Etihad) at home after three intensive years. We've always received support of the fans, so we're really happy with them. For me, the second season was the worst- if we can finish in third in this third season it wouldn't be extraordinary but still a good season. I will have emotions on Sunday but I prefer not to show them in an external way."
Arsenal:
The Gunners manager, Arsene Wenger sounded resolute to secure a Champions League berth in the pre-match press conference against Manchester City and here is what the 66-year-old Frenchman had to say:
“We have regrets because we had a chance to finish top of the league. Our target now is to secure our position in the Champions League next year. If possible, to get in second place and at least secure third and on Sunday we can achieve that. If we win the two games, we will be all right.”
Key Battle
Gael Clichy vs Alexis Sanchez
The 27-year-old Chilean, Alexis Sanchez will be up against former Arsenal man, Gael Clichy at the Etihad. Sanchez has had a pretty decent outing in this year’s Premier League and has scored 12 league goals along with four assists for the Gunners.
Although Gael Clichy hasn’t featured in a lot of Manchester City’s 2015-16 Premier League matches, the 30-year-old has put on a string of decent performances for the Citizens in the recent past. The Frenchman will have to be at his best if he wants to keep Alexis Sanchez quiet in the game.
Prediction
Tonight’s match is going to be really important for both the sides as Arsenal will, definitely, want to seal a Champions League berth against a resolute Manchester City.
Having said that, ‘the blue half of Manchester’ would want to present its current manager, Manuel Pellegrini a perfect farewell, in what is going to be the Chilean’s last home game as City manager.
Manchester City 2-1 Arsenal
