What: English Premier League
Who: Arsenal vs Manchester City
When: Saturday 29th March 2014, at 17:30 UK Time
Where: Emirates Stadium, London, England

Switching Targets

Arsenal play host to title-chasing Manchester City in Saturday’s Premier League late kick-off at the Emirates Stadium. This was supposed to be a huge fixture in both teams’ challenge for the league title, but Arsenal look to now be out of the race for the championship that has eluded them since 2004. 

An embarrassing 6-0 defeat at Chelsea last weekend was followed up by a disappointing home draw against Swansea on Tuesday. Those results have left Arsene Wenger’s side six points behind league leaders Chelsea, but Manchester City could make that gap even bigger if they win their games in hand.

With Liverpool also in the race, Arsenal are on the outside looking in with regard to the title. To make matters worse, Everton have enjoyed a solid run of form and if they can win their game in hand they will narrow the gap on the fourth-placed Gunners to only three points. And with a massive game at Goodison Park to be played between the two sides next weekend the pressure will be on Arsenal.

Players and coaches have insisted that now they must take things one match at a time. Midfielder Mathieu Flamini urged his side to focus on the business at hand as Manchester City come to the Emirates.

“That’s going to be a big one [against City]”, Flamini said. “We want to do well, especially after the big loss against Chelsea. We want to prove that we’re one of the big teams in the Premier League.”

Title Favourites

Though they have two games in hand to win in order to overtake Chelsea at the top, Manchester City are increasingly looking like recapturing the Premier League title. There are stern tests still to come, but Manuel Pellegrini’s side seem poised to win the league after a series of glittering displays.

One of those occurred in midweek when Manchester United were easily dispatched 3-0 at Old Trafford. It may have been another result that affirmed how far Manchester United have fallen, but it was also further evidence that Manchester City are the team to beat. After away matches to Arsenal and Liverpool in the coming weeks, the title picture may be clearer, but at the moment no one seems likely to stop this confident team.

In the aftermath of the Manchester United victory, Pellegrini indicated just how important that latest result was.

"It was very important psychologically because it was one of the three big matches we had still to play, and it was against a great team like Manchester United", Pellegrini said.

"We continue recovering points on Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal so it was very important to keep adding points. We need to win more points than the other teams but you'll never know how many points you'll need over the other teams."
 

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Recent form

Arsenal:
Tottenham 0-1 Arsenal (16/03; Premier League)
Chelsea 6-0 Arsenal (22/03; Premier League)
Arsenal 2-2 Swansea (25/03; Premier League)

Manchester City:
Hull 0-2 Manchester City (15/03; Premier League)
Manchester City 5-0 Fulham (22/03; Premier League)
Manchester United 0-3 Manchester City (25/03; Premier League)

Key absences

Arsenal: Laurent Koscielny; Mesut Ozil; Jack Wilshere; Theo Walcott; Aaron Ramsey; Nacho Monreal

Manchester City: Micah Richards; Matija Nastasic; Sergio Aguero

Players to watch

Arsenal – Lukas Podolski: The German attacker has had a solid return from injury, chipping in with a few goals in March. His ability to cause trouble on the left side of the attack or play centrally makes him very useful for the Gunners. With a whole host of similar midfielders, Arsenal need a player like Podolski who offers some thrust and power. Against Swansea he changed the match around after coming on as a substitute, playing a key role in both of Arsenal’s goals.

Manchester City – Edin Dzeko: While the likes of Sergio Aguero and Alvaro Negredo have stolen the headlines this season, the Bosnian striker has continued to quietly go about his business effectively. Dzeko has been overshadowed by many names in his Manchester City career, but his consistency deserves greater coverage. With two superb goals in the Manchester derby in midweek, Dzeko proved once again he relishes the big matches.

Match Prediction

Can Arsenal prevent their season from sliding into freefall? The Gunners for so long title chasers, now have to also look behind them with regard to the Champions League as Everton are on their tails. Manchester City meanwhile are in fantastic form and Pellegrini’s men will be satisfied with nothing less than the league title. When the two teams met in Manchester a few months’ back, the Citizens ripped Arsenal apart 6-3. While they won’t score six this time around, Manchester City must be the favourites to pick up another crucial three points as Arsenal’s form and injury list will just be too much for Wenger’s men to overcome. Arsenal 1-2 Manchester City.

Betting on Arsenal v Man City? Make sure you read our betting preview first!
 

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