Manchester City could move to the top of the Premier League on Wednesday night when they take on league leaders Arsenal.
After the Gunners dropped points for the second consecutive Premier League game, City closed the gap between the two sides to three points following their 3-1 win over Aston Villa. City have the superior goal difference, meaning victory in north London would send them to the top of the league table.
History is on Pep Guardiola’s side heading into this one, with City having lost just one of their last 14 clashes with Arsenal. Their most recent meeting was in the FA Cup at the end of January, with Nathan Ake scoring the winning goal in a 1-0 victory.
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So, could City go to the top of the Premier League on Wednesday night? Let's take a look.
We simulated Arsenal vs Man City to get a score prediction
To complete this simulation, we used FIFA 23 and updated the squads with the latest injuries and suspensions.
We predict that Arsenal could set up in a 4-3-3 formation, with their line-up as follows: Ramsdale; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Zinchenko; Partey, Odegaard, Xhaka; Saka, Nketiah, Trossard.
We predict that City could line up in a 4-3-3 formation, with their line-up as follows: Ederson; Walker, Dias, Akanji, Ake; Rodri, De Bruyne, Silva; Mahrez, Haaland, Grealish.
A sluggish start from City saw the hosts dominate the opening stages of the game, and 30 minutes in, Guardiola's side had been dismantled as they found themselves 3-0 down. Eddie Nketiah opened the scoring after nine minutes with a tap-in from Bukayo Saka's cross, and moments later it was 2-0 when City were caught on the break, allowing Granit Xhaka to break through and double the lead.
32 minutes in, Nketiah grabbed his second and Arsenal's third as he headed Martin Odegaard's cross in at the near post, and City found themselves in an unfamiliar position. After making it 3-0, the Gunners took their foot off the gas, and this allowed City to get back into the game as Erling Haaland got on the scoresheet.
A corner was half cleared by Arsenal, with City sending the ball back towards goal and restarting the attack. Ruben Dias found Bernardo Silva just outside the box who flicked the ball into the path of Haaland, and the striker shifted the ball away from Saka before firing into the net at the near post.
All of a sudden City were in control of the game, and the nerves were kicking in for the hosts. Riyad Mahrez rattled the crossbar in the 43rd minute when he tried his luck from a tight angle, but City did manage to pull another goal back before half-time to make it 3-2.
Kyle Walker and Mahrez exchanged passes down the right as they broke into the box, and a feint from Mahrez saw the winger skip past his marker before squaring the ball to Silva at the back post. Completely unmarked, the midfielder tapped into an empty net to set up an interesting second half.
Guardiola's side were in full control over the next 45 minutes, with Haaland, Jack Grealish and Ake all being denied brilliantly by the goalkeeper. City got more desperate as the game went on, but they couldn't break down the Arsenal defence as they failed to find an equaliser at the Emirates.
FIFA 23 predicted final score: Arsenal 3-2 Man City
Here are the full-time match stats.
FIFA 23 predicts that City could fall to defeat in a big result in terms of the title race. A slow 30 minutes saw City taken advantage of as they went three goals down, showing that Guardiola's side have to be at their best on Wednesday.
What do you think the final score will be? Let us know in the comments!
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