Man City vs. Arsenal lineups, expected starting 11, confirmed team news and injuries: De Bruyne misses out for champions

Dom Farrell

Man City vs. Arsenal lineups, expected starting 11, confirmed team news and injuries: De Bruyne misses out for champions image

Manchester City and Arsenal have been the top two in the Premier League for each of the past two seasons, meaning Sunday's clash at the Etihad Stadium feels potentially seismic despite coming just five matchweeks into the 2024/25 season.

Pep Guardiola's men have been perfect so far domestically, winning four out of four in England's top flight. 

City came from behind in their previous two home games against Ipswich Town and Brentford to take the points but it would be foolish to start so sluggishly against Arsenal. Even though they pipped the Gunners at the post in the title race, the four-time reigning champions did not score in either 2023/24 Premier League match against Mikel Arteta's men.

Arsenal and City each shared goalless draws with Italian opponents in the UEFA Champions League in midweek, so don't rule out another cagey, high-stakes contest.

MORE: All the latest Arsenal news | Premier League schedule for 2024/25 | Latest Premier League top scorer rankings

Man City vs. Arsenal lineups, expected starting 11, confirmed team news

Kevin De Bruyne was replaced at halftime against Inter Milan in midweek following a collision with visiting goalkeeper Yann Sommer. The Belgian has not made it in time to face a club he has eight goals and four assists against in 14 Premier League matches. Ilkay Gundogan is in for his first start since rejoining City from Barcelona.

Club captain Kyle Walker  replaces Rico Lewis at right-back, while Savinho and Jeremy Doku start on the wings meaning bench duty for Phil Foden and Jack Grealish.

Man City predicted XI (4-3-3, right to left): Ederson (GK) — Walker, Akanji, Dias, Gvardiol — Silva, Rodri, Gundogan — Savinho, Haaland, Doku.

Injured: Bobb (broken leg), De Bruyne
Suspended: None

Declan Rice returned to the Arsenal line-up against Atalanta following his domestic suspension and lines up in a midfield still without ankle-injury victim Martin Odegaard.

Gabriel Jesus started as captain in Odegaard's absence in Bergamo but the Brazilian struggled before making way with an hour played. Leandro Trossard gets the nod in the centre of the attack, playing a more fluid role as Kai Havertz drops into midfield once more.

Ben White is surprisingly benched, with Jurrien Timber switching to right-back and Riccardo Calafiori making his fill debut in the other fullback position.

Arsenal (4-2-3-1, right to left): Raya (GK) — Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Calafiori — Partey, Rice — Saka, Havertz, Martinelli — Trossard.

Injured: Merino (shoulder), Odegaard (ankle), Tierney (hamstring), Tomiyasu (knee), Zinchenko (calf)
Suspended: None

MORE: Kevin De Bruyne injury: Who will replace Man City midfielder when Pep Guardiola's men face Arsenal?

Man City vs. Arsenal live stream, TV channel

Here's how to watch this Premier League match across selected areas of the world's major regions:

RegionTVStreaming
USAFubo, nbcsports.com, NBC Sports App
CanadaFubo
UKSky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports Premier LeagueSky GO, Sky Sports website
AustraliaOptus Sport
IndiaStar Sports Select 1JioTV, Hotstar VIP

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Dom Farrell

Dom Farrell Photo

Dom is the senior content producer for Sporting News UK. He previously worked as fan brands editor for Manchester City at Reach Plc. Prior to that, he built more than a decade of experience in the sports journalism industry, primarily for the Stats Perform and Press Association news agencies. Dom has covered major football events on location, including the entirety of Euro 2016 and the 2018 World Cup in Paris and St Petersburg respectively, along with numerous high-profile Premier League, Champions League and England international matches. Cricket and boxing are his other major sporting passions and he has covered the likes of Anthony Joshua, Tyson Fury, Wladimir Klitschko, Gennadiy Golovkin and Vasyl Lomachenko live from ringside.