Man City v Arsenal preview

11 September 2009 10:19
Manchester City will be hoping to make it four wins in four Premier League games when they host Arsenal at Eastlands. The Blues have started the season all guns blazing, winning their opening three Premier League fixtures as well as their opening Carling Cup tie with Crystal Palace. City are also yet to concede a goal, and the last time they started a season with three clean sheets was back in 2007 when, ironically, their run was halted by the Gunners. Emmanuel Adebayor and Kolo Toure will face their former club, hoping to shine once again under new boss Mark Hughes. Adebayor has scored in all three of his league starts to date and will look to keep the ball rolling on Saturday. After scoring 10 goals in their opening two league games, the Gunners were unlucky in defeat against Manchester United last time out when an Abou Diaby own goal saw them narrowly defeated at Old Trafford. Before that loss, the last side to beat Arsenal on the road in the league were City in November 2008. Boasting impressive wins over Everton and Portsmouth, as well as two solid performances against Celtic in the UEFA Champions League, Arsene Wenger's side are still very much a force to be reckoned with. Team newsCity have been dealt a big blow with the news that Carlos Tevez will be forced to miss Saturday's clash after picking up a knee injury while on international duty. Robinho, who lined up against Tevez in Brazil's 3-1 win over Argentina this week, is also a doubt. Vincent Kompany could be available for City having missed out on the early part of the season. Arsenal have been struck by injuries of their own with Andrey Arshavin (groin) the latest in a long list of players sidelined. Defender Johan Djourou (knee), winger Samir Nasri (broken leg) and reserve goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski (knee) are all out. Wenger will be boosted by the likely return of skipper Cesc Fabregas who appears to have recovered from a hamstring injury. Tomas Rosicky featured for the Czech Republic in midweek but may still be short of full match fitness. Theo Walcott, however, has returned to training after recovering from a back problem. Provisional starting Xls:Manchester City: Given, Richards, Toure, Lescott, Bridge, Wright-Phillips, Ireland, Barry, Bellamy, Adebayor, Robinho. Arsenal: Almunia, Sagna, Gallas, Vermaelen, Clichy, Denilson, Song, Bendtner, Diaby, Eboue, Van Persie.

Source: SKY_Sports