Man City vs Arsenal Prediction, Odds and Betting Tips: Tipster Wizard's best bets for blockbuster battle

Live on Sky Sports, defending champions Manchester City lock horns with title challengers Arsenal in this top-of-the-table Premier League clash on Sunday at the Etihad Stadium (4:30pm).

Both teams will be eager to stamp their authority early on in the season in this six-pointer and I have included my two best bets for the game below.

Pep Guardiola’s men have started the season in perfect fashion, having won all four of their league games, scoring a massive 11 goals in the process, with Erling Haaland in supreme goalscoring form with nine goals already.

As for the Gunners, they sit second in the league table with 10 points, winning three and drawing one of their four league games so far. After they beat bitter rivals Tottenham 1-0 in the North London Derby, Mikel Arteta’s men will be full of confidence as they go up against the league leaders. They were the only team to keep a clean sheet away at the Etihad last season in a 0-0 draw and have been resolute in defence yet again this season, conceding just one goal in four league games so far.

Recent head-to-head meetings between these two sides have been low-scoring cagey affairs, with a combined total of just three goals scored in their last three meetings in all competitions, with last season’s Premier League clashes ending 0-0 and 1-0 respectively so I am not expecting a lot of goal-mouth action.

Man City vs Arsenal Team News:

• Man City: Nathan Ake & Oscar Bobb are out for Manchester City while Kevin De Bruyne is doubtful.
• Arsenal: Odegaard, Mikel Merino, Tomiyasu, Zinchenko & Tierney are out for Arsenal.

Bet Builder 1 Selections

• Kai Havertz - Over 0.5 fouls committed
• William Saliba - Over 0.5 tackles
• Under 4 goals

Kai Havertz tops the fouls chart for Arsenal in the Premier League so far this season, having committed eight fouls. He has committed at least one foul in all four league games so far, and three fouls against Atalanta in the Champions League on Thursday. He committed four fouls against Manchester City in this fixture last season and considering Guardiola’s men are expected to have most of the possession, I can see him getting frustrated and fouling City’s defenders in a bid to win the ball back.

William Saliba is averaging a mammoth four tackles per game in the Premier League this term. Having registered 2, 5, 5 and 4 tackles in his first four league games respectively, he is second on the tackles leaderboard in the Premier League. He made three tackles in this fixture last season and with Arsenal expected to do a lot of defensive work in this game, this should land comfortably.

For the final selection, I am targeting the unders market. All three of their head-to-head meetings have gone under four goals. In fact, there was a total of just one goal scored across their two Premier League meetings last season. With Arsenal continuing to be resolute in defence, I expect another cagey affair with neither side willing to give away clear cut chances.

Bet Builder 2 Selections

• Kai Havertz - Over 1.5 fouls committed
• William Saliba - Over 1.5 tackles
• Under 3 goals

For the second pick, I am taking higher lines on all three selections.

Kai Havertz is averaging two fouls per game in the league this season, and is expected to start in midfield due to Odegaard’s injury. He committed three fouls playing in that position and four fouls in this exact fixture at the Etihad last season.

William Saliba has registered at least two tackles in all four of his league games so far this season and also made two tackles against Atalanta in the Champions League on Thursday. Against the creativity and flair of Manchester City, he could be required to make last-ditch tackles, something that he has excelled in this season. He also cleared the “Over 1.5 tackles” line in both head-to-head meetings in the Premier League against Manchester City last season.

Finally, I am taking a lower line of “Under 3 goals” as our third pick for this Bet Builder. This line has also landed in their last three consecutive head-to-head meetings in all competitions. For Arsenal, all five of their games this season have seen under three goals and I expect that trend to continue here in this all-important top-of-the-table clash.

Combining these three selections gives us a cracking longshot Bet Builder @ 11/2 with bet365 and we will take it with a small 0.25pt stake as our second bet for this game.