Roy Keane is backing Manchester City to secure an important result against Arsenal this weekend.
Asked to predict the scoreline of the top-of-the-table clash on The Overlap, the Sky Sports pundit went with a narrow win for the home side, saying the Gunners are not good enough to pull off an upset at the Etihad:
“Arsenal are not winning there. Arsenal are not winning at Man City. I’m going 2-1 City. Arsenal aren’t winning there. You’re all getting kidded, I’m telling you.”
Unsurprisingly, Arsenal legend and fellow pundit Ian Wright disagreed with Keane’s verdict. He believes that Mikel Arteta’s side’s strong defence could be key to getting a vital victory on Sunday:
“We’re going to beat them. You know why I’m saying that? Because we have to beat them. Why should I not think we can win when we’ve got a great defensive record and we’re scoring goals? Why should I now go negative on our chances? I think Arsenal will win. We have to beat them, we have to go for it.”
A lot depends on who City name in their starting eleven
Manager Pep Guardiola is sweating over the fitness of a number of players heading into the Arsenal fixture. Kyle Walker and John Stones have not trained since sustaining injuries on international duty. It would be a surprise if either player featured this weekend.
The likes of Matheus Nunes and Manuel Akanji also picked up knocks but they are much more likely to be included in the matchday squad.
Ederson and Kevin De Bruyne, meanwhile, decided against linking up with their countries due to fitness issues. Both appear to be winning their respective battles to play on Sunday but there are question marks over whether they will be 100%.
A win would be a massive boost for Guardiola’s team
The reigning Premier League champions trail the Gunners by one point at the moment but, if they do get the victory as Keane predicts, it would move them ahead of their rivals going into the final 9 matches.
With a fairly kind run-in as well, the Cityzens would be favourites to finish top of the table once again.