Match Preview: Manchester City vs Arsenal (Emirates FA Cup Fourth Round)

On Friday night, Manchester City will look to progress through to the FA Cup fifth round as they take on the current Premier League leaders Arsenal for the first time this season.

Last time out, City took on Wolves, as they continue their pursuit of closing the gap between themselves at Mikel Arteta’s side at the top of the table – with the Gunners currently holding a five-point lead.

Erling Haaland delivered in fine fashion as he usually does for Pep Guardiola’s side, scoring a fourth hat-trick of the ongoing season and taking a much-needed three points to add to the victory over Tottenham in the previous Premier League fixture.

The Norwegian’s treble against Wolves took his Premier League goal tally to a staggering 25 so far this season, surpassing the total scored by the previous season’s Golden Boot winners Son Heung-Min and Mohamed Salah.

Tonight, it is the challenge of Arsenal, who come into Friday’s match fresh off the heels of an exhilarating win against Manchester United at the Emirates Stadium.

The lead exchanged between the two sides throughout the contest until former Manchester City defender Oleksander Zinchenko glided a ball into Gabriel Martinelli, who played in Eddie Nketiah to tap home, securing all three points for the Gunners.

The match on Friday will be the first meeting between the top two teams in the Premier League table this season, and their first meeting since New Year’s Day 2022, yet it won’t be for points, but rather a spot in the next round of the Emirates FA Cup – and possibly a major psychological advantage heading into the two outstanding top-flight clashes that are still yet to come this season.

When?

The fourth round of the Emirates FA Cup will take place on Friday 27 January at 20:00 BST.

Where?

The clash between Manchester City and Arsenal will take place at the Etihad Stadium.

How To Watch?

For viewers in the United Kingdom, you can view the match on ITV 1.

For viewers in the United States, you can view the match on ESPN+ with kick-off scheduled for 3:00 p.m. EST.

Full channel listings for viewers elsewhere around the globe are available here.