Pep Guardiola’s side have been devastating so far domestically, winning each of their four Premier League matches, including three by more than a single goal.

City are generating huge scoring opportunities. They have created more than 2 xG in each of their last four matches, and though they were held to a scoreless draw in the Champions League by Inter in midweek, they still fashioned the type of scoring opportunities that might have seen them win the game.

Arsenal have been toothless by comparison. The Gunners have created over 1xG in just one of their last four matches across all competitions and have had to ride their luck at the other end of the field, conceding just one goal from 4.8xGA in these fixtures. Against a prolific City side, their fortune will surely not hold.

Haaland has scored in each of the four Premier League matches he has played this season, finding the net an astonishing nine times in total – which is more than any other team in the league, let alone player.

Such prolific scoring naturally comes with a very significant shot count. He has managed at least two shots on target in each Premier League match he has played.

Was closely policed by Inter in midweek – Guardiola claimed the Italian side were marking him with six players at the time – and the Norway star still managed to get a shot away on target.

Failed to hit a shot on target in either of the two matches against Arsenal last season but did have four efforts in the Etihad fixture in March. Given that he has hit the target with 46.8% of all shots he has taken in the Premier League throughout his Man City career, if he can find this type of space again, it would be remarkable if David Raya was not tested at least once.

Manchester City have won more corners than any other club in the Premier League this season with the notable exception of Tottenham. City are picking up corners at a rate of nine per match, which is exactly twice as many as Arsenal are winning.

When these sides met at the Etihad Stadium last season, it was a match that was dominated by the home side both in terms of possession and territory. This led to them winning seven corners against the four that Arsenal picked up on that occasion. This game is likely to follow a similar pattern.

With Martin Odegaard certainly missing for the Gunners, it is likely that manager Mikel Arteta adopts the type of defensive approach that he used in Atalanta in midweek, which will invite pressure onto his backline and present City with the type of situations that could see the home side winning corners.

Saka is a key attacking outlet for Arsenal. His importance to the attack will only be magnified because of the absence of Odegaard from this match, and this increased responsibility is liable to see the England winger to have a greater share of the Gunners’ efforts on goal.

Although Saka has only scored one Premier League goal this season, he posts a club-high figure for both shots (11) and shots on target (seven). He is having efforts on goal at a rate of 2.89 per 90, with 1.84 per 90 hitting the target.

He averaged 3.15 shots per 90 last season, showing that he is slightly down on this figure this time around.

Failed to get a shot in the one game he played against City last season, but had been carrying an injury into that game and there was significant doubt over whether he would even feature. Indeed, he went into that game without a match in close to three weeks. A fully fit Saka at the Etihad will be a very different beast.

Haaland has been unstoppable in the Premier League this season, scoring nine goals in just four games – more goals himself than any club has scored in total.

He is getting away a huge volume of shots, with at least five attempted in three of his four matches, while he has generated 4.8xG. Even if he is dramatically outperforming his xG figure, the fact that he is generating 1.2xG per 90 shows that he is liable to be a major threat in front of goal in every game he plays.

Although he failed to score against Arsenal last season, he managed four shots on goal when Mikel Arteta’s side visited the Etihad Stadium, showing that he is capable of generating scoring chances against the Gunners.

During the 2022/23 campaign, he scored in both matches against Arteta’s side and also chipped in with a couple of assists so does have positive memories of playing the Gunners to draw upon.

Manchester City have won the second most corners in the Premier League this season behind only Tottenham. Pep Guardiola’s side sit on 36 corners for the campaign, which is an average of nine per game – well above the figure here.

In their two previous home league encounters, they have picked up ten corners against Ipswich and 12 against Brentford – the highest tally they have managed so far this season. City are on a run of three successive Premier League outings in which they have had at least 10 corners.

They won seven corners against the Gunners in the previous league match between the clubs and this game is likely to follow a similar pattern, with the hosts dominating the ball and territory.

Arsenal have been giving up significant numbers of corners so far this season. The Gunners have conceded 20 in total at an average of five per game. They have now conceded seven in successive top-flight fixtures against Brighton and Spurs.

Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya has made at least three saves in each of the four Premier League matches he has played, establishing himself as one of the league shot-stoppers in the world in the process.

The Spaniard’s confidence will be supremely high after keeping four clean sheets in his last four matches, producing a number of outstanding saves in the process. Recent highlights include his stop from Ollie Watkins in a 2-0 win over Aston Villa and a double-block that went viral in midweek as he saved both a penalty and its follow-up from Atalanta striker Mateo Retegui. Arguably the form keeper in the league.

Man City are likely to get away a significant number of shots on target in this game. Guardiola’s side are tied with Nottingham Forest and Tottenham in terms of shots on target in the Premier League so far this season with 24 – an average of six per game. Raya should have a significant number of efforts to stop, and given his form, three saves look probable.

Raya leads the Premier League in save percentage with 93.3% and has clean sheets in his last three against City.

Arsenal are one of the most prolific sides in the Premier League when it comes to picking up cards this season. In their four matches, they have received 13 yellow cards plus one red card. Only Chelsea, who have received 16 cards, have seen more.

Manchester City have received only eight cards so far this season, with only Brentford (seven) picking up fewer.

City are liable to reduce their chances of picking up cards by committing few fouls. Have committed only 25 so far this season at a rate of 6.25 per 90. This is the lowest in the league. Arsenal are up at more than double that figure, 13.8 per 90 from their first four matches.

Arsenal’s last trip to the Etihad saw them commit 20 fouls. They picked up two yellow cards in that encounter while City did not see a single card from just nine fouls.

City have picked up more cards than their opponents in only one of four Premier League matches to date, although that was their last outing against Brentford. Conversely, Arsenal have received fewer cards than their opponents just once – against Tottenham last week.