Manchester City take on Arsenal at the Etihad stadium later on Sunday, as both teams will be looking to close the gap at the top of the Premier League. With Chelsea currently sitting top of the Premier League table with nine points clear, neither of these teams can afford to drop any points during this festive period.
Manchester City go into this match on the back of a much-needed 2-0 over Watford but that win came at a cost as their key playmaker Ilkay Gundogan injured his knee ligaments, which rules him out of this match and for most of this season. Club captain Vincent Kompany will be a big miss this match as he continues to recover from a knee injury. The Belgium defender has been struggling with injuries for a long time now and given how bad Manchester City have been defensively this season, they need him back as soon as possible.
Manchester City will also miss their top goal scorer Sergio Aguero who is still serving his four-match ban after his horrific tackle on David Luiz in their 3-1 defeat at the hands of Chelsea. Fernandinho, who has been a key figure in midfield for Manchester City this season, will also miss this match after he too picked up a three-match suspension for picking a fight with Cesc Fabregas. Yaya Toure, who has hardly featured for Manchester City this season, will most likely start this match along with Fernando in midfield.
Arsenal will be looking to bounce back from their shock midweek defeat at the hand of Everton. Shkodran Mustafi will be a huge miss for Arsenal after he picked up a hamstring injury in their win against Stoke City. The German international has settled well to life in England and he formed a strong partnership with Laurent Koscielny. Arsenal are yet to lose a match when those two have played. With Mustafi injured, Arsenal will have to play Gabriel in place of him. Aaron Ramsey will miss this match too after he picked up a hamstring injury too.
Long-term absentees for Arsenal include Santi Cazorla, Per Mertesacker and Mathieu Debuchy. The good news for Arsenal heading into this match is that Danny Welbeck is just one week away from returning to full training. The Arsenal forward missed the start of the season after he damaged ligaments last season but he could be ready for first team selection from the New Year.
Both Manchester City and Arsenal will be desperate for a win in this match and with Chelsea running away with the title, at the moment there can be no margin for error from either team. Manchester City have struggled against Arsenal in recent matches with Arsenal undefeated in their last six encounters against the Citizens.
Confirmed team news
Man City: Bravo, Zabaleta, Otamendi, Kolarov, Clichy, Fernando, Sané, Touré, Silva, De Bruyne, Sterling.
Subs: Sagna, Nolito, Caballero, Jesus Navas, Stones, Iheanacho, Garcia.
Arsenal: Cech, Bellerin, Gabriel, Koscielny, Monreal, Coquelin, Xhaka, Walcott, Özil, Iwobi, Sánchez.
Subs: Gibbs, Lucas Perez, Giroud, Ospina, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Holding, Elneny.
