Manchester City will face off against Arsenal at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday afternoon as they look to secure a good result on the road in the Premier League. The Mancunian giants managed to earn a solid 2-0 win over Napoli in midweek, which should give them a ton of confidence ahead of this game.
Pep Guardiola will set his players up in a 4-3-3 formation and is expected to make some changes to his first team for this clash. John Stones and Oscar Bobb could play from the start of this game.
Gianluigi Donnarumma will feature in goal for Man City after keeping a clean sheet in his last appearance. Ruben Dias will function alongside John Stones at the heart of Guardiola’s defence as they look to keep the opposition at bay during the 90 minutes.
Stones is a slight concern ahead of this game, but he returned to training earlier this week and is in contention to start this game.
Abdukodir Khusanov will play as the right-back, while Josko Gvardiol hopes to give a good account of himself as the left-back. Guardiola will ask both of them to perform their defensive duties well before trying to offer some support to the front players.
Nico O’Reilly and Nathan Ake will be named on the bench as they provide cover for the defensive positions.
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 18: Phil Foden of Manchester City applauds the fans during the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 League Phase MD1 match between Manchester City and SSC Napoli at City of Manchester Stadium on September 18, 2025 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Dan Istitene/Getty Images)
Tijjani Reijnders, Rodri and Bernardo Silva will make up Guardiola’s midfield. Their main focus would be to make life tough for the opposition at the centre of the park.
Nico Gonzalez will have to be content with a place on the bench as he waits for his chance to make an impact in the second 45 minutes if required.
Jeremy Doku will try to impress as the left-sided wide player, while Oscar Bobb looks to make a difference from the right flank.
Erling Haaland will spearhead Man City’s attack up top. He has been scoring goals for fun of late and would fancy his chances of doing the same against Arsenal this weekend.
Savinho will be available for selection on the bench and might come on to influence the game in the final quarter of the game if needed.
