City, who failed to win any of last season's meetings with the Gunners, saw their winning start to the campaign halted in midweek, drawing 0-0 with Inter Milan in their Champions League opener. City registered 22 shots against the Italian outfit but failed to find a way past goalkeeper Yann Sommer.
However, attention now switches back to the Premier League and City's first meeting of the season with an expected title challenger. Arsenal pushed City every step of the way in each of the last two campaigns and it could be the same this time around.
As ever, Ederson is expected to start in goal and continue his record of starting every game in all competitions so far this season. He will be targeting a first clean sheet in the league since City defeated Chelsea 2-0 on the opening weekend of the season.
As far as the defence is concerned, Kyle Walker could be back in the starting XI, meaning a return to a back-four after Guardiola deployed a back-three in midweek. Walker could start at right-back with Josko Gvardiol starting in the opposite full-back berth.
At centre-back, Manuel Akanji, who has started every game so far this season, should retain his place and be partnered by Ruben Dias, who returned to the starting XI against Inter after starting on the bench for last weekend's 2-1 win over Brentford.
After starting for the first time this season against Inter, Rodri should secure his first Premier League start of the campaign and sit at the base of the midfield.
In the event of him being deemed fit enough to start, De Bruyne should retain his place in midfield and provide the creative sparkle. In that situation, Mateo Kovacic could start as the third midfielder to provide a degree of control.
In attack, Erling Haaland is guaranteed to lead the line in his pursuit of his 100th City goal. He has nine goals in four Premier League outings already this season.
The Norwegian could be joined in attack by Jack Grealish and Phil Foden. The latter came off the bench at half-time on Wednesday night.
A Manchester City starting XI displayed on a graphic football pitch with the Etihad Stadium in the background. The City XI is as follows:
GK: Ederson
RB: Walker
CB: Akanji
CB: Dias
LB: Gvardiol
CDM: Rodri
CM: Kovacic
CM: De Bruyne
RW: Foden
ST: Haaland
LW: Grealish
How Manchester City could line up against Arsenal.
City predicted XI vs Arsenal: Ederson; Walker, Akanji, Dias, Gvardiol; Rodri, Kovacic, De Bruyne; Foden, Haaland, Grealish
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