Manchester City vs. Arsenal FC Premier League Soccer Betting Odds

Without a doubt the most massive, most important, and most crucial match of the 2022-2023 English Premier League season will take place in Manchester on Wednesday, April 26th at the Etihad as defending champions Manchester City, who currently sit in second place, host the league-leading Arsenal.

The match could very well decide the outcome at the top of the league table, but sports betting sites are not giving Arsenal much of a chance on the moneyline, as City come into this one as massive favorites.

Manchester City vs. Arsenal EPL Odds

Manchester City have beaten Arsenal twice this season, once in the FA Cup and once in the league, but neither of those results was quite indicative of how closely contested those matches were. Injuries on both sides, unfortunately, are likely to have a major impact on this match as well. All odds provided by Betway. 

Manchester City Odds

It’s been a while since Manchester City were the hunter and not the hunted. Unfortunately for Arsenal, it seems Pep Guardiola’s men are loving their new role as they attempt to chase the Gunners down in the table. City have not lost a match since a 1-0 loss to struggling Tottenham in early February, which puts them on a 16-game unbeaten streak in all competitions. Talk about finding your best form at the perfect time.

They have also won six straight league games which has put the squeeze on an inexperienced Arsenal squad who are the second youngest team in the league. The pressure City’s dominant play has put on Arsenal has been palpable, as Guardiola’s squad has scored 18 goals during their six-game winning streak while allowing just four to their opponents.

Erling Haaland has continued to be an absolute menace every time he’s out there, and the service he’s been getting from the likes of Kevin De Bruyne, Ilkay Gundogan, and Jack Grealish has been nothing short of superb. Rodri has also been excellent in the middle of the park, though there may be a question or two about the back line going into Wednesday’s match.

Starting left back Nathan Ake picked up a hamstring injury over the weekend and is unlikely to be able to contribute against Arsenal, which gives the visitors a glimmer of hope amidst their own injury issues.

Considering that Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta was once a Pep disciple, it’s not surprising that they play similar football. The main difference is that Arsenal’s young squad is more prone to mental lapses, which City pounced on in the reverse fixture at the Emirates in February. If City plays a clean game, they should have no problem winning this match and putting one hand on the Premier League trophy.

Arsenal Odds

Arsenal have been top of the league since late August, which is basically the entire campaign. The whole time they’ve been on top and playing well, opposing fans have been clamoring for the classic Arsenal ‘bottle job.’ Up until a few weeks ago, it seemed they would be hoping for a collapse that never came, but now it seems Arsenal are obliging those rival fans.

After losing both Takehiro Tomiyasu and starting center back William Saliba for the rest of the season a couple of weeks ago, the Arsenal defense has been in a rough spot. Rob Holding has done a serviceable job, but his lack of pace on the defensive end and progressive vision with the ball has resulted in a slower Arsenal attack and an easier Arsenal defense to punish on the counter.

Arsenal has drawn their last three matches in about as dramatic a fashion as possible. They went up 2-0 on Liverpool after 30 minutes but ended up thankful for the draw after Liverpool’s second half onslaught. Then they went up 2-0 against West Ham in the first 10 minutes, only to be pegged back for another 2-2 draw.

Then there was the Southampton game last Friday in which they allowed a goal under 30 seconds into the game, went down 2-0 ten minutes later, and barely scrounged together a 3-3 draw against the team at the bottom of the table in the final minutes. The result of this extended hiccup means City are only five points back with two games in hand.

It is a very rough time for Arsenal, who will once again be without Saliba and most likely midfielder Granit Xhaka as well. Though Arteta is loath to change things up, with the pieces they have missing, their only chance might be to do just that. If they go with a back five, push Zinchenko into the midfield, and start Trossard higher up the pitch, they could have a chance. They just need to avoid silly mistakes and put the massive pressure they’re under out of their minds.