Man City vs Arsenal: Premier League title chase takes a backseat as FA Cup giants collide – TV, live stream info, odds

PREMIER LEAGUE title rivals Manchester City and Arsenal meet TONIGHT for the first time this season, with the FA Cup taking center stage this weekend.

These two giants begin the fourth round with a game at City’s Etihad Stadium on Friday night.

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And all the boasts will surely inspire confidence in the winner that they can win the Premier League.

Both sides are likely to shuffle their packs as the title race heats up and both remain involved in European competition.

City defeated Chelsea 4-0 in the third round of this famous old competition.

Riyad Mahrez scored twice, with Julian Alvarez and Phil Foden also scoring.

Arsenal, meanwhile, justified an apparent favoritism as they beat League One Oxford 3-0.

But bookmakers were concerned that Arteta’s side were 0-0 at half-time.

Mohamed Elneny opened the scoring in the 63rd minute before two goals from the red-hot Eddie Nketiah ended the goal.

Here SunSport previews the delicious clash at Etihad.

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City have won three of their last five games in all competitions and lost two.

Those defeats came in the EFL Cup quarter-finals against Southampton 2-0 and of course the dramatic 2-1 defeat in the Manchester derby against United.

Arsenal are in stunning form – unbeaten in their last five games with four wins and one draw.

Other high-flyers Newcastle are the only side to have put a bit of a damper on their run by clinching a point in the 0-0 draw with the Emirates.

What’s new from the team and are there any injuries to worry about?

Man City are doubtful about an injury for Phil Foden, who is struggling with a foot injury and is expected to miss the game.

Boss Guardiola will surely use the clash to give some fringe players a chance to impress.

Gabriel Jesus, Reiss Nelson and Mohamed Elneny will all miss the FA Cup game through injury.

Like his counterpart, Gunners boss Arteta was able to rotate his XI, giving the likes of Vieira, Holding, Tierney and Trossard a chance to impress.

Who will the star men be?

Man City could well give Erling Haaland a breather in what could mean a start-up top for him Julian Alvarez.

The Argentine world champion never lets anyone down and could continue to expand his roster.

Arsenal will certainly shuffle the pack – and re-launch Leandro Trossard has an instant chance to shine.

He played 12 minutes of the 3-2 win over Man Utd and showed glimpses of his talent.

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What did the managers say?

After the recent 3-0 win over Wolves in the Premier League, Guardiola said: “The way we played [vs Wolves] was very similar to the first half when we lost 2-0 to Spurs.

“Our game, football, was really good… Today we improved, but only today.

“We’ll see what happens in the next game.”

Following Arsenal’s impressive last-minute 3-2 win over Man Utd at the weekend, Arteta said: “In the end it was a beautiful moment to win a game of that magnitude.

“The way we did it with our people and the atmosphere that created that… It doesn’t get any better than that – it was great.

“We’ll continue until tomorrow, review the game, train well and start thinking about Man City.”

How are the chances?

Manchester City 7-10

Arsenal 17-5

Draw 3-1

Odds courtesy of Betfair

When does Man City play Arsenal?

Man City host Arsenal with a kick-off at 8pm on Friday 27 January.

Is the game on TV and on which channel?

The match will be televised – ITV has the broadcast rights to the clash.

How can I stream it live

Catch ALL the action as the two big lockhorns with SunSport’s live blog.

SunSport Prediction

How much this will affect the Premier League title race is unclear.

Both managers could make a number of changes to keep the squad fresh.

City’s fringe players have already proven themselves this season and that leads us to believe they could snag a win.

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