GOAL! Arsenal 1-0 Man City (Odegaard, 2)

Arsenal host Manchester City, with the home side desperate for a win to stay in touch with league leaders Liverpool and the away side keen for a victory to maintain the revival of their difficult season.

The match at the Emirates Stadium in north London kicks off at 4:30pm local time (16:30 GMT).

Early kickoff for some fans, very late for others

Victory over rivals Man City crucial for Arsenal’s title run, Arteta says

Victory over Manchester City on Sunday will be a boost for Arsenal’s Premier League title hopes, manager Mikel Arteta said on Friday.

“[Winning against them] would be a big boost for us [in the title race],” Arteta told reporters.

“Winning big matches is always something special. Every time we play a big match against our rivals, it brings something extra.”

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40m ago

 (14:20 GMT)

‘The respect that we have is always there’

City boss Guardiola, who once had the fellow Spaniard Arteta on his staff, also says reports of animosity are overblown – at least involving the two coaches.

“Exceptional,” he said of their relationship. “With him and his family. We’re not in touch much because we have business but the respect that we have is always there.”

Guardiola will feel heartened by his side’s much-improved form in the past month to claw back into fourth place and within 12 points of Liverpool, a position from which a miracle late title charge could still be possible.

Manchester City are unbeaten in the past six Premier League fixtures, including a 3-1 home win over Chelsea last weekend. The club also confirmed its Champions League knockout stage place by rallying to a 3-1 win over Club Brugge on Wednesday night.

Phil Foden has been providing a much-needed secondary scoring threat of late, contributing his seventh league goal against Chelsea after Erling Haaland scored his 18th.

Brazilian prospect Savinho scored his first career Champions League goal as a second-half sub on Wednesday.

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44m ago

 (14:16 GMT)

POLL: Who will score first in the Arsenal vs Man City match?

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51m ago

 (14:08 GMT)

VOTE NOW: Who will win today?

Pick the winner between Arsenal and Manchester City:

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59m ago

 (14:00 GMT)

No Guardiola rift despite Man City rivalry, says Arteta

Arteta insists there is no rift with his old friend Guardiola before the Gunners’ latest high-stakes battle against Manchester City.

Guardiola’s players accused Arsenal of using “dark arts” during a fractious 2-2 draw between the Premier League title rivals in September.

City midfielder Rodri suffered a serious knee injury in the clash, while Arsenal played more than half the game with 10 men following Leandro Trossard’s dismissal in a separate incident.

In a heated finale, John Stones scored a stoppage-time equaliser for City, whose striker Erling Haaland celebrated by throwing the ball at Arsenal defender Gabriel Magalhaes.

But Arteta is adamant he is still on good terms with his fellow Spaniard.

“If there was a problem, we wouldn’t have been talking on the phone and messaging each other. If not, it wouldn’t happen,” he said.

“I don’t take anything personally that happens on the pitch. It’s been that way since I was a player. It is full of emotions. We just move on.”

Arteta, left, and Guardiola before a match [File: Carl Recine/Reuters]

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1h ago

 (13:50 GMT)

City’s early team news

Pep Guardiola’s side will be without Ruben Dias, Nathan Ake and Jeremy Doku, who all remain injured.

Oscar Bobb remains well short of match fitness as he continues to recover from a broken leg.

Ballon D’Or winning midfielder Rodri was ruled out for the remainder of the season and that remains the understanding, even though the player has said he hopes to play again before the final game.

January signings Omar Marmoush, Abdukodir Khusanov and Vitor Reis are all available.

City’s possible starting XI:

Ederson; Nunes, Stones, Akanji, Gvardiol; Kovacic; Foden, De Bruyne, Silva, Marmoush; Haaland

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1h ago

 (13:40 GMT)

Arsenal’s early team news

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta said goalkeeper David Raya is a doubt for the City clash after the 29-year-old Spaniard missed their Champions League match at Girona on Wednesday due to fitness issues.

Defender Ben White remains sidelined with a knee injury and is not back in team training yet, while his fellow right-back Takehiro Tomiyasu also remains unavailable due to injury.

England winger Bukayo Saka will be out for several more weeks due to a hamstring injury, and striker Gabriel Jesus is out for the season following an ACL tear sustained in a mid-January FA Cup clash against Manchester United.

Eighteen-year-old prospect Myles Lewis-Skelly is available, after his red card against Wolves last weekend was overturned on appeal.

Arsenal’s possible starting XI:

Neto; Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Lewis-Skelly; Odegaard, Partey, Rice; Nwaneri, Havertz, Martinelli

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Source: Al Jazeera and news agencies