Having had their initially arranged fixture for October postponed due to the death of Queen Elizabeth II, the timing of Wednesday’s rearranged match between Arsenal and Manchester City could hardly have been better from a neutral’s perspective.
Pep Guardiola’s side moved three points behind the Gunners by beating Aston Villa 3-1 on Sunday, after Mikel Arteta’s side had failed to win for the second successive Premier League match with a 1-1 draw at home to Brentford on Saturday.
With the reigning champions boasting a superior goal difference, victory at the Emirates Stadium would move them above Arsenal into top spot in the table, albeit Arteta’s side will retain a game in hand on their title rivals regardless of the outcome of their first league meeting this season.
Man City have been installed as 2.44 favourites to win on Wednesday, with Arsenal priced at 3.00. The draw is 3.45, which looks a decent price given the amount at stake, and how closely matched these two sides appear to be based on current form.
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With Erling Haaland odds-on to score anytime and the Norway striker considered a fitness doubt in any case after being substituted at half-time against Villa, two other players who will surely be catching the eye of many people – both from a viewing and betting perspective – are Bukayo Saka and Riyad Mahrez.
Both left-footed wingers have been cutting inside from their respective right flanks to great effect in recent weeks. Saka has three goals and two assists to his name since returning from the World Cup, while Mahrez has notched four goals and three assists having enjoyed a relatively rare run of starts in the Man City side.
Both could be on penalty duty for their teams and they also both scored in the last league meeting between these two teams, which finished 2-1 to Man City courtesy of Rodri’s late winner.
Saka is 4.00 to score anytime for the Gunners, while Mahrez is 3.45 to notch for the third time in his last four visits to the Emirates Stadium. In a match where both teams should get themselves on the scoresheet, these prices appeal.