Manchester City vs. Arsenal Betting Tips: Side with the hosts on the Asian Handicap

Manchester City against Arsenal looks an absolute cracker in the FA Cup on Friday night and we've provided you with our best bets for the game from the Etihad. 

The hosts hammered Chelsea 4-0 in the third round of this competition and are the bookmaker’s favourites to lift this year’s trophy. They sit second in the premier league table, five points off leaders Arsenal who are their fourth round opponents in this competition.

These teams are yet to face each other in the Premier League and this game is being billed as a dress rehearsal for the title race. Arteta’s men eased past Oxford United with a 3-0 away win and will be eyeing the FA Cup trophy for a record 15th time in their history. 

• FA Cup Winner Odds

Guardiola’s men are coming off the back of a dominant 3-0 win over Wolves courtesy of an Erling Haaland hat-trick, whereas The Gunners beat Manchester United in dramatic fashion as Eddie Nketiah scored in the 90th minute to seal the three points for them. 

Both sides will be expected to rotate slightly due to such a busy schedule but this is still expected to be a competitive contest between two of the best teams in Europe at the moment.

An exciting cup clash awaits us, and as usual I have you covered with 2 of my best betting angles below:

Team News:

Manchester City have a fully fit squad heading into this cup clash.

Gabriel Jesus & Reiss Nelson are out for Arsenal while Elneny is doubtful.

Manchester City possible starting lineup:

Ortega; Walker, Dias, Akanji, Ake; Silva, Rodri, De Bruyne; Mahrez, Haaland, Alvarez

Arsenal possible starting lineup:

Turner; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Zinchenko; Xhaka, Partey; Saka, Odegaard, Martinelli; Nketiah

- Over 0 goals in the match for Man City

- Julian Alvarez Over 0.5 shots in the match

- Leandro Trossard Over 0.5 shots in the match

- Over 10.5 tackles in the match for Arsenal

Manchester City have scored at least one goal in every home game so far this season in all competitions and have not failed to score here since a goalless draw against Sporting here in March 2022. 

Julian Alvarez is expected to start here and play the full 90 minutes. He has 12 shots in four starts for City in the Premier League and also  let off three and two shots in his league cup starts against Chelsea and Southampton respectively. 

Leandro Trossard is also expected to start for Arsenal here in what will be his first for his new club. Trossard was averaging 2.4 shots per game for Brighton in the league and hit three shots against Manchester City at the Etihad earlier this season. 

As for the tackles, teams against Manchester City usually get high tackle numbers as the “Over 10.5 tackles” selection has landed against them in their last 12 consecutive games in all competitions. 

Arsenal average over 15 tackles per game away from home this season in the league so expect them to land this selection comfortably. Combining these 4 picks gives us a solid bet builder @ 4/5 and I am happy to stake 1pt on that as our main bet for this game.

Julian Alvarez has five goals in his last six starts for Manchester City, also scoring in the third round of this competition against Chelsea. Despite Arsenal’s current unbeaten run, Manchester City have been dominant in this fixture having beaten Arsenal in their last six consecutive meetings at the Etihad Stadium. 

However, The Gunners still possess a lot of attacking threat and are the second top scorers in the league behind City which tempts me to add the “Both teams to score” selection in this longshot which pays @ 5/1 with Unibet. I’m therefore Happy to stake a small 0.25pt on that as our 2nd bet for this cup clash.

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