Arsenal vs Manchester City Prediction & Betting Tips - FA Cup

Prediction published on 15/07/2020, 12:46  by Steve Ashfield | Modified on 15/07/2020 at 17:13 in FA Cup Prediction

Arsenal host Manchester City in the FA Cup semi-finals on Saturday at Wembley Stadium. Their opponents are the cup holders and bidding to win this and the EFL Cup for the second successive season.  City have already had a good week and will want to continue their good form. They are confirmed not just as finishing second in the Premier League but seen their European ban overturned. Wednesday saw them beat Bournemouth 2-1 and they could yet finish the season with three trophies being won.. With the League Cup already in the bag, they have one foot in the Champions League quarter-finals (leading Real Madrid 2-1 from the first leg) and only need two wins in the FA Cup to hang on to it for another year.

Arsenal have won the FA Cup on a record 13 occasions, one more than Manchester United. They won't be in the Champions League next season but could yet make it into the Europa League. Winning the FA Cup is one route and finishing in the top seven in the Premier League is another. It could even be eighth if Wolves were to win the Europa League. Arsenal boosted their chances of qualifying via their league position with a 2-1 home win over Liverpool on Thursday. That left them two points adrift of Tottenham in seventh and three behind sixth-placed Wolves. Their final two games are away at Aston Villa and home to Watford, both winnable matches.

The Gunners don't have a good record against Manchester City though. Their opponents have beaten them in each of their last seven league and cup meetings. However, the last time Arsenal did beat City was in 2017 when they met in the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley. Could history repeat itself this weekend? City have the edge on their opponents though. They exposed Arsenal's fragile backline during their most recent encounter, which finished 3-0, David Luiz self-destructing on that occasion. It shows how wide the gap has become between two of England's biggest clubs that City battering Arsenal now feels routine. City have scored at least three goals in six of their last seven matches against Arsenal. They know how to unlock that defense. Three clean sheets in eight games since the restart tell Mikel Arteta that he needs to reinforce their backline this summer. Their attack seems like it's in better shape thanks to the form of players like Aubameyang but 53 goals in 36 league matches isn't very good and 40 less than City have managed. Arsenal have failed to score in five of their last six matches against City. Back City to win with a clean sheet.