Manchester City could take a big step towards the Premier League title on Wednesday night if they can pick up three points against Arsenal.
Six league wins in a row have seen City close the gap between themselves and Arsenal at the top of the Premier League table, with the Gunners drawing their last three league fixtures in a row to push the title into City's hands. A win on Wednesday would see the gap close to just two points, but City will have two games in hand on their title challengers.
City have got the better of Arsenal in their two meetings already this season, beating them 1-0 in the Carabao Cup and 3-1 in the Premier League. Only one player won't be making the trip to the capital, with Nathan Ake out through injury.
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So, can City close the gap to two points on Wednesday? We simulated the clash to find out. To complete this simulation, we used FIFA 23 and updated the squads with the latest injuries and suspensions.
We predict that City could line up in a 3-2-4-1 formation, with their line-up as follows: Ederson; Akanji, Dias, Laporte; Stones, Rodri; Silva, De Bruyne, Gundogan, Grealish; Haaland.
We predict that the visitors could set up in a 4-3-3 formation, with their line-up as follows: Ramsdale; White, Holding, Gabriel, Zinchenko; Partey, Odegaard, Xhaka; Saka, Jesus, Martinelli.
Both sides offered little going forward in the opening stages, cautious of the consequences if they pushed too far forward. City saw a lot more of the ball in the first-half, but they played themselves into trouble after 30 minutes when Arsenal took the lead.
As City controlled possession on the edge of their own box, a sloppy pass from Ederson under pressure saw the ball land at the feet of Martin Odegaard. The midfielder sent the ball forward into the path of Gabriel Jesus with a first-time pass, and the ex-City striker powered his effort into the bottom corner to put the visitors ahead.
Now a goal down, City started to play more risks when going forward, and it almost paid off minutes after the Arsenal goal when Bernardo Silva struck the post with an ambitious effort. Momentum was in City's favour heading into the break, and they managed to level the score in the 44th minute through Kevin De Bruyne.
Guardiola's side pressed the Gunners high up the pitch, and John Stones managed to win the ball off Thomas Partey on the halfway line to start a City attack. The Englishman fizzed the ball into the feet of Erling Haaland who flicked a pass through to De Bruyne, and just inside the box the Belgian managed to beat Aaron Ramsdale at his near post with a fantastic strike.
City maintained control in the second half, and the game was tilted in their favour in the 63rd minute when Ben White was sent off for pulling down Jack Grealish as the last man. After going down to 10, Arsenal struggled to get forward, and City scored a deserved second late into the game.
A short corner routine worked the ball into the Arsenal box, with Silva carrying the ball past two men before firing towards goal. His shot was blocked and fell to the feet of Rodri, with the Spaniard placing the ball into the top corner and securing victory in the 88th minute.
FIFA 23 predicted score: Man City 2-1 Arsenal
FIFA 23 predicts that City could take a big step towards the Premier League title, beating Arsenal 2-1 in the simulation. Victory could tip the title into City's favour, though they'll need to win their two games in hand to overtake the Gunners.
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