Manchester City (h)

A lot of the narrative will surely be around the ref - A Liverpudlian supported by a Manc on VAR, a Manc as 4th official and a Manc on the line - but also the battle between Gabriel and Erling Haaland. Both love the physical side of the game, and there is no love lost after Haaland lacked humility when he threw the ball at the back of Gabriel's head and then told Arsenal to "stay humble" - one of the quotes of the season.

City have shown signs of a return to form - winning 4 of the last 5 and scoring 17 goals in that run. Haaland has 5 in that time, but it is Phil Foden who seems to have been the catalyst behind the upturn. He has scored 6 in the 5 wins, including doubles against Brentford and Ipswich.

The City defence has struggled with a lack of consistency in availability. While Josko Gvardiol has been a mainstay and one of their best players, the likes of Ruben Dias, Nathan Ake and John Stones can barely string a couple of games together. It did lead to them signing Abdukodir Khusanov - but the Georgian suffered a harrowing debut last week.

Another debutant, Omar Marmoush looked bright in attack and will be one to look out for. Unable to play in City's final Champions League game, Marmoush will be raring to go alongside Foden and Haaland.

Rodri remains out after his injury in the reverse fixture, with Mateo Kovacic a controversial figure in this tie likely to start.


David Raya is our big worry, hopefully he will be fit to play after that Neto disasterclass on Wednesday. Who starts on the right will remain a big talking point, Ethan Nwaneri was excellent on Wednesday and deserves the place but Sterling and Martinelli are options. Left back is the other call, with Riccardo Calafiori taking advantage of the ridiculous Oliver call to score the winner last week. Myles Lewis Skelly is unsurprisingly free to play after that horrendous decision to send him off was laughed off by the independent panel.


As with every game, it is a must win. Let's hope the game is decided by the players and not the officials.