Ray Parlour makes Manchester City vs Arsenal prediction

The Premier League title race could take its first major turn this weekend when reigning champions Manchester City welcome chasers Arsenal on Sunday afternoon. 

City have won all four of their matches in the top-flight so far in pursuit of becoming crowned champions in England for a record fifth consecutive time. 

Mikel Arteta's Arsenal have certainly closed the gap on the Citizens in recent years, having finished runners-up behind City for the two previous seasons. 

Parlour: Expect Arsenal to play on the counter-attack

The visitors' recent record at the Etihad doesn't make for great reading if you're an Arsenal fan. 

They haven't recorded a victory at the venue since January 2015, when goals from Santi Cazorla and Olivier Giroud earned them three points on the road. 

Seven of their nine subsequent meetings in Manchester have ended in a City victory, though one of the exceptions did occur in this fixture last season. 

Arsenal held the champions to a 0-0 draw at the end of March in a season where they would eventually keep 18 clean sheets in the Premier League. 

While they would still finish two points behind City in second, Arteta's side has become renowned for their impeccable defensive stability. 

Arsenal have kept four clean sheets already this season in all competitions - the latest coming in a 0-0 draw away at Atalanta to kick-off their Champions League campaign on Thursday night.

Their most recent league outing saw them pickup an impressive 1-0 victory at bitter rivals Tottenham.

While the hosts may have retained 64% of possession, they recorded just 0.70 xG across the 90 minutes and ultimately fell short courtesy of Gabriel's 64th-minute header.

Given the success they've had at the back, questions remain over whether Arsenal will repeat their approach from last season's draw at the Etihad - a game which saw them criticised for not pushing for all three points. 

The two sides last met in a 0-0 draw at the Etihad back in March. (Photo credit: Alamy Images)

Speaking exclusively to Odds Now via NetBet Online Betting, former Gunners midfielder Ray Parlour says he expects a similar performance from his old side due to the attacking threat posed by the reigning champions. 

"I expect Arsenal to play a very similar way that they did against Spurs. Yes Declan Rice is expected back and he can be influential, but Arsenal know the threat that City bring and especially Haaland, so they have to be prepared for their attacking play," he said. 

"Gabriel and Saliba will look to stop [Erling] Haaland, but with Kevin De Bruyne, [Phil] Foden, [Bernardo] Silva and [Jeremy] Doku, City have many goal threats. Arsenal will look to play fast on the counter attack as they can be very dangerous."

Parlour is right to acknowledge the danger posed by the hosts. No side scored more than City's 96 goals in the league last season - 51 of which came at the Etihad.

City also scored two or more goals in exactly half of their 19 Premier League home fixtures and come into this one buoyed by the sublime form of striker Erling Haaland. 

The Norwegian has already netted nine goals in the league this season and already boasts two goals in four appearances against Arsenal.

Parlour: Play the under 2.5 goals line

It would be tempted to build this game as 'attack vs defence' given all of the above, but it's also important to acknowledge Arsenal's own threats in attacking quarters. 

They also boasted impressive numbers in the goals column last season - in fact, they scored only five goals less than the eventual champions last term. 

Their greatest strengths clearly lie in defence though, largely because of the supreme centre-back duo of William Saliba and Gabriel.

The pair find themselves in a rare group to have contained Haaland and co last season - City didn't register a single goal in their two meetings with the Gunners.

Both matches were hard-fought - Gabriel Martinelli's late winner at the Emirates was the only goal scored by either side across the two encounters. 

Gabriel and Saliba in action against City last season. (Photo credit: Alamy Images)

Parlour is anticipating similar again this time around in a match which might not make for the most entertaining watch for the neutral. 

"I think it will be tight again, I don’t expect many goals and under 2.5 goals would be one way to play the game from a betting angle.

"It would be a huge statement for Arsenal to win against City, but a point will also be a very good result.

"Arsenal have such a strong defensive record, as to City, so both teams won’t give much away. An early goal could open the game up, but don’t expect either team to give much away."

Whatever happens on Sunday, there's a strong chance the result will have a huge impact on where the Premier League title ends up come May.

Manchester City vs Arsenal betting odds

City haven't lost a single home match in the league since November 2022, when they fell short in a 2-1 loss to Brentford. 

It's little surprise, therefore, to see them enter as firm odds-on favourites at a best price of 11/13. Arsenal are wide underdogs at 19/5 to record their first away win against the champions in nine years, while the draw sits at 13/5.

Parlour earmarked the under 2.5 goals line in what could prove a very astute pick at 4/5.