Man City v Arsenal Prediction: Hosts to make it two from two against lowly Gunners

Gameweek 3 in the Premier League commences at the Etihad as Manchester City welcome Arsenal. 

Neither side's 21/22 campaigns got off how they would have hoped as both lost on opening weekend. However, City responded by thrashing Norwich 5-0 in GW2 whilst the Gunners went zero from two with back-to-back 2-0 defeats meaning they slumped to 19th in the table as Mikel Arteta went to the favourite in the sack race and the red half of North London went into crisis mode.  

Arsenal and their supremo will have drawn confidence from the 6-0 victory over West Brom’s kids in midweek as Aubameyang bagged a hattrick and Pepe, Saka and Lacazette also got themselves on the scoresheet. However, even after this result, the bookmakers clearly do not fancy the Gunners. City are around 2/9 giving them an expected chance of victory of 82%.

This bet has landed in all four of these sides' last four domestic meetings as Man City have scored eight without reply and I expect Saturday’s fixture will be no different. 

Last campaign, 56% of Man City’s EPL victories saw this bet land which includes both of their 1-0 wins over Arsenal. Therefore, with City around 2/9 to win here this is a nice way in here. 

It is worth noting that the Gunners will have drawn some confidence from their midweek demolition of West Brom’s second team, however, I think that will only enhanced the likelihood of a low scoring home victory as the hosts will inevitably break down a stubborn low block. 

Top flight officials have decided to follow in the footsteps of the Euros and let the game flow and whilst this is great for the spectacle, it is not exactly ideal for cards. With fans back in the grounds, the expectation was that the EPL’s opening weekend would be rife with cards, as was the case in the EFL, however, it was not as cynical a weekend as expected. Gameweek number two saw a healthy smattering of bookings though which is why I have found it impossible to overlook the price of a particular player to be carded in this fixture.

Kieran Tierney is 6/1 with William Hill to be booked. For Arsenal in the Premier League, the Scottish international has picked up six cards over the past three seasons, two of which have come against the traditional ‘big six’ which includes a game against the Citizens. 

The Gunners left back has averaged 0.22 cards per 90 domestically meaning his price should be around the 7/2 mark - the exact price with Unibet - therefore, his price with William Hill - and even the 5/1 available with 365 - is obvious value. 

If you want something a bit chunkier you can combine the game to have three or fewer goals, with a Tierney card and Sterling to have two or more shots on target at 40/1 using William Hill’s ‘Build Your Odds’ feature. 

Raheem Sterling seems to relish an afternoon with the Gunners as the ex-Liverpool winger has scored four times in his last five appearances against Arsenal registering 16 shots and six shots on target in that time.

Best of luck if you are backing any of these selections and please remember to gamble responsibly.