Arsenal and Manchester go head-to-head for the second time in four days following Sunday’s League Cup final at Wembley.
This will be the 175th competitive fixture between the two clubs, with the Gunners ahead on the head-to-head record with 87 wins compared to City’s 44.
However, there has been little to separate the two in the fixture’s recent history, with three draws, one victory for Arsenal and two for City across the past six meetings.
City won the league meeting between the two 3-1 at the Etihad Stadium back in November – Kevin De Bruyne, Sergio Aguero and Gabriel Jesus were on target for the hosts with Alexandre Lacazette for Arsenal.
Pep Guardiola’s side also won Sunday’s League Cup final 3-0 as Sergio Aguero, Vincent Kompany and David Silva found the net.
City are on course for their first league title in four years, as they lead the Premier League table by 13 points with this as their game in hand, while Arsenal languish in 6th place.
Both clubs are particularly strong at home –Arsenal winning 10 of their 13 home league games, while City have dropped seven of their nine points on the road.
Man City’s 2-0 victory at the Emirates in January 2013 was their only league win away at Arsenal since 1975.
Arsenal will be without Alexandre Lacazette (knee) and Santi Cazorla (plantaris), but Petr Cech and Henrikh Mkhitaryan are set to return to the starting line-up.
Gabriel Jesus (MCL ligament) may miss out for City while Benjamin Mendy (ACL knee) is definitely unavailable. Ederson is set to replace Claudio Bravo as goalkeeper.
Manchester City enter this game as clear favourites in the betting market yet the game is more finely balanced and a draw is the most likely result.
Arsenal’s home record this season is extremely strong, with 10 wins and only one loss from their 13 league outings this season – that came against Manchester United.
City’s record at the stadium is not strong, with just one victory in 11 league visits.
The two are also evenly-matched in recent meetings, despite City winning both clashes between the sides this season.
However, Sergio Aguero is a striker who usually finds the target against Arsene Wenger’s side, having netted in each of the last four meetings and scoring seven career goals against the Gunners.
The Argentine will once more be a prime threat for Guardiola’s side on Thursday, having opened the scoring in Sunday’s League Cup final victory.