Hassan Chamas


What: English Premier League
Who: Arsenal (3rd; 71 points) versus Manchester City (5th; 62 points)
When: Saturday 24th April, 2010, at 17:30 BST
Where: Ashburton Grove, London, England

One Punch After Another

It seems as if Arsenal’s season continues to tumble like a set of dominos: Having exited Europe’s blue ribbon competition at the hands of holders Barcelona, The Gunners’ domestic title aspirations all but vanished as they succumbed to Tottenham and Wigan in the Premier League, with three fixtures to go before the end of this season.

Arsene Wenger’s contract talks have been supposedly put on hold, with indexes pointed at him as the culprit behind Arsenal’s boycott of the winter transfer market. Furthermore, former club legend Frank McLintock pinpointed Arsenal’s failure to bag silverware yet again this season as being down to the manager’s confidence in his youngsters, citing the urgent need for already established superstars as well.

Tough Times Ahead

Manchester City’s perennial mission for fourth-place took a hard knock last weekend as Roberto Mancini’s troops were defeated at home by Manchester United in their local derby. An injury time goal from Paul Scholes was enough for the Red Devils to continue their pursuit of Chelsea, but greatly damaged The Blues’ quest for fourth position.

Luckily for City, they will face both Tottenham and Aston Villa – both fourth-place seekers – in the coming weeks, and as such, the blue Mancunians will hold a golden opportunity to decide their own faith. It could well be a tough few weeks for City, however, with their weekend opponents Arsenal enduring their own tough spell lately; a win over The Gunners at their own ground will lift The Citizens’ spirits.

Recent form

Arsenal:
Barcelona 4-1 Arsenal
(06/04; Champions League)
Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 Arsenal
(14/04; Premier League)
Wigan Athletic 3-2 Arsenal
(18/04; Premier League)

Manchester City:
Burnley 1-6 Manchester City
(03/04; Premier League)
Manchester City 5-1 Birmingham City
(11/04; Premier League)
Manchester City 0-1 Manchester United
(17/04; Premier League)

Key absences

Arsenal: Andrei Arshavin (doubt); Johan Djourou (doubt); Thomas Vermaelen; Cesc Fabregas; Aaron Ramsey; William Gallas; Kieran Gibbs

Manchester City: Sylvinho (doubt); Micah Richards; Joleon Lescott; Martin Petrov; Michael Johnson



Players to watch

Arsenal – Nicklas Bendtner: Arsenal’s threat up front, the young Dane will roam around the box, waiting for that golden chance. If not correctly marked, he could be a nuisance for City's defence for the full 90 minutes.

Manchester City – Carlos Tevez: The Blues’ main talisman this season, Tevez will be Manchester City’s main player yet again on Saturday. Having failed to find the back of the net against rivals United, the former Corinthians star will make sure to do all he can in order to increase his goal tally against the 2004 domestic champions.

Match prediction

A tumultuous season for the Londoners so far, Man City boss Roberto Mancini needs to make sure that his squad will make best use of Arsenal’s woeful form. By no means unplayable on home soil, the visitors can get a result from this fixture, and with so much at stake for them, a win is very much possible. 


Fancy a bet on this exciting game? Remember, you can find and compare the prices of all major online bookmakers at tip-ex.com.

 

 

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