Four Premier League clubs take a break from league action this weekend as we head into the semi-final stage of the FA Cup. The first semi-final to take place will be between Arsenal and Manchester City on Saturday the 18th of July at Wembley Stadium.
Arsenal come into the match having defeated Liverpool 2-1 at home in the Premier League on Wednesday night. It was a surprise result considering The Gunners chose to rest some of their key players including striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. Arsenal fell a goal behind in the first half but came back strongly to take maximum points.
That was an important victory for Arsenal who had failed to win their previous two games against Leicester City and Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League. it is going to be tough for Arsenal to secure European football through their Premier League position this season and so the FA Cup has become extremely important.
Arsenal have played 4 matches to reach this stage of the competition. They have defeated Leeds United, Bournemouth, Portsmouth and Sheffield United. Arsenal have scored exactly 2 goals in each of their last 3 FA Cup games but their recent record against Manchester City is poor.
Trends show Arsenal have lost each of their last 7 games against Manchester City, 6 of which have been in the Premier League and one in the League Cup. However, the last time the two teams met in the FA Cup it was Arsenal who came out on top, winning 2-1 at the semi-final stage in 2017.
Manchester City picked up another victory on Wednesday night as they defeated relegation threatened Bournemouth 2-1 at home. Much like their opponents, Manchester City decided to rest some of their key players including Kevin De Bruyne and Raheem Sterling. That result means Manchester City have won each of their last 3 games following the shock 1-0 defeat at Southampton.
Other than the loss at Southampton, Manchester City have been scoring plenty of goals following the lockdown. That includes 3 goals against Arsenal in the Premier League plus 5 against Burnley, 4 against Liverpool and 5 against both Newcastle United and Brighton.
This season in the FA Cup Manchester City have defeated Port Vale, Fulham, Sheffield Wednesday and Newcastle United. They have kept a clean sheet in each of their last 3 FA Cup games and you must go back to February 2018 to find the last time Manchester City lost in the FA Cup.
Team news and Arsenal will definitely be without Bernd Leno, Calum Chambers, Gabriel Martinelli and Pablo Villar. They also have doubts over the fitness of Mesut Özil while Matteo Guendouzi remains absent for disciplinary reasons.
Manchester City will be without injured goalkeeper Claudio Bravo and striker Sergio Agüero. Joao Cancelo is a doubt.
This match should see goals but unfortunately for Arsenal they are all expected to come for Manchester City. Expect to see the current FA Cup holders win the game and keep a clean sheet in the process.
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