Arsenal v Manchester City: live stream, TV details, how to watch, injury news and predicted line-ups

The champions kick off the new year with a trip to the capital on Saturday afternoon.
Martin Odegaard and Jack Grealish challenge for the ball. Credit: Getty.Martin Odegaard and Jack Grealish challenge for the ball. Credit: Getty.
Martin Odegaard and Jack Grealish challenge for the ball. Credit: Getty.

Manchester City start 2022 with a difficult away game against in-form Arsenal on New Year’s Day.

The 12:30pm kick-off is the first Premier League encounter of 2022 and offers Pep Guardiola’s side a chance to, at least temporarily, move 11 points clear at the league’s summit.

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With Chelsea facing Liverpool on Sunday, the gap will definitely be closed to City, but it could still remain at 10 points depending on the results of both games.

Man City won 5-0 when the sides last met in August. Credit: Getty.Man City won 5-0 when the sides last met in August. Credit: Getty.
Man City won 5-0 when the sides last met in August. Credit: Getty.

The champions head into the match at the Emirates in majestic form and have won their last 10 league games, the last of which was the 1-0 victory over Brentford on Wednesday.

City also overcame Leicester City 6-3 in perhaps the most entertaining game of the festive period, while prior to that they enjoyed emphatic victories over Newcastle United and Leeds United, winning both by a combined 11-0.

As for the Gunners, they themselves are in a great run of form and have won their last five in all competitions. Over the Christmas schedule, wins against Norwich City and Leeds helped firm their hold on a Champions League spot, with the Londoners currently sitting in fourth.

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Arsenal also head in with a slight advantage over City having not been in action since Boxing Day, due to their fixture against Wolverhampton Wanderers being postponed on 28 December.

However, the Covid-19 outbreak across the English top flight has affected Arsenal, with manager Mikel Arteta missing the game after recently testing positive. The Spaniard is well known to those at City after spending three years as one of Guardiola’s assistants at the Etihad.

Mikel Arteta was once Pep Guardiola’s assistant. Credit: Getty.Mikel Arteta was once Pep Guardiola’s assistant. Credit: Getty.
Mikel Arteta was once Pep Guardiola’s assistant. Credit: Getty.

What’s the latest team news?

There are doubts surrounding the fitness of Kyle Walker, John Stones and Rodri after the trio missed the last two games. Walker has actually been absent for the previous five league outings but was pictured in training ahead of the Arsenal clash.

The lack of options meant once again Guardiola had to name a City bench which contained two goalkeepers at Brentford, and also youngster Luke Mbete.

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Oleksandr Zinchenko, Ilkay Gundogan, Raheem Sterling and Riyad Mahrez were all unused substitutes in the midweek game, and are likely to return to the side at the Emirates.

Mahrez and Sterling could come back into the side at Arsenal. Credit: Getty.Mahrez and Sterling could come back into the side at Arsenal. Credit: Getty.
Mahrez and Sterling could come back into the side at Arsenal. Credit: Getty.

That could see Nathan Ake, Gabriel Jesus and Jack Grealish drop out of the starting line-up, while Kevin De Bruyne and Bernardo Silva could be rested after a busy few weeks.

Following the news that Joao Cancelo was attacked in his home on Thursday, there’s no update on whether he’ll be included in the group that travels to the capital.

As for the Gunners, there are doubts surrounding the fitness of Takehiro Tomiyasu, Sedric Soares, Calum Chambers and Ainsley Maitland-Niles, after recently testing positive for Covid-19.

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Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has missed the last four league matches due to a disciplinary breach and it’s unclear whether he’ll be considered for Saturday’s fixture.

Predicted line-ups

Arsenal (4-2-3-1): Ramsdale; Tavares, White, Gabriel, Tierney; Xhaka, Partey; Saka, Odegaard, Martinelli; Lacazette.

Manchester City (4-2-2-2): Ederson; Cancelo, Dias, Laporte, Zinchenko; Fernandinho, Gundogan; Mahrez, Sterling; Silva, Foden.

Is the match on TV?

The game will be broadcast live in the UK on BT Sport 1 with the pre-match build-up beginning at 11:30am. The match can also be streamed through the BT Sport app.

How can I watch highlights?

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As always, both clubs will show two-minute highlights around two hours after the game, while the BT Sport YouTube channel will also show the main moments. Match of the Day will be on at 10:45 pm on New Year’s Day and bring highlights of all three games from Saturday.