Arsenal, Manchester City Brace for Rematch After League Cup Final Rout
After their Carabao Cup win on Sunday, treble-chasers Manchester City face Arsenal for the second time within five days. They will have one eye on their Premier League fixture against Chelsea this weekend, but it is likely they will still field a strong side on Thursday evening.
Meanwhile Arsenal are looking to bounce back from their dire performance in the cup final; a performance which famed pundit Gary Neville described as "spineless."
Here is everything you need to know ahead of Thursday's game:
Previous League Encounter
The last time these sides met in the Premier League was in November. City were also victorious in this fixture, winning 3-1 at the Etihad.
The Citizens were their usual ruthless selves, with goals from Kevin De Bruyne, Sergio Aguero and Gabriel Jesus. Alexandre Lacazette did peg them back to 2-1, but City were worthy winners and Jesus finished the game off in the 74th minute.
The game was a ninth successive win for City and Pep Guardiola praised it as an "amazing" performance to BBC Sport.
Key Battle
Sergio Aguero vs Shkodran Mustafi
Although it is obvious that Aguero is one of City's most prominent threats - with his 21 goals in the league so far this season - he is especially prolific against Arsenal.
Not only does he have two goals to his name against the North Londoners this season, he has scored in each of his last five games against the Gunners.
Mustafi will need to prove himself in this game after his disastrous mistake in the Carabao Cup final, when he failed to deal with a routine goal kick, leading to City's first goal from - guess who? - Aguero.
Team News
Arsenal's absentees include Nacho Monreal, after picking up a back injury, and Alexandre Lacazette who remains out with a knee injury. Santi Cazorla's return date remains unknown.
Manchester City are without Fernandinho who suffered a hamstring injury in the win against Arsenal. They are still without Frenchman Benjamin Mendy until April. Raheem Sterling is a slight doubt, but should at least be on the bench for the game.
Both sides have games on the Sunday after so that may affect the starting lineups, especially for City who have a tough game against Chelsea. However as this is an important fixture, it is likely that both sides will put out their strongest squads.
Potential Arsenal Starting Lineup: Cech; Chambers, Mustafi, Koscielny, Bellerin, Xhaka, Wilshere, Kolasinac, Ozil, Mkhitaryan, Aubameyang
Potential Manchester City Starting Lineup: Ederson; Walker, Kompany, Laporte, Danilo, Gundogan, De Bruyne, Silva, Sane, Bernardo Silva, Aguero
Prediction
After dominant performances against Arsenal in both the league and the Carabao Cup final, it is hard to argue against another City win.
That being said, the defeat could rally the Gunners into giving City a proper game. Also, the fact that Pep Guardiola's side have a difficult game so soon after, he may be inclined to field a weaker side, so Arsenal may have a chance this time round.
Prediction: Arsenal 1-2 Manchester City
