Arsenal vs Manchester City: Carabao Cup final preview, prediction, team news and head-to-head

• Over 3.5 goals

• Both teams to score

• Arsenal to win

• Arsenal over 5.5 corners

The first major final of the season could have a definitive say in this season’s Premier League title race.

Mikel Arteta’s side command a nine-point advantage over Pep Guardiola’s men at the top of the Premier League table and remain on course to win an unprecedented quadruple after securing safe passage through to the Champions League quarter-finals in midweek, beating Bayer Leverkusen 3-1 on aggregate.

READ HERE: Arsenal are in the UCL quarterfinals: Eze's screamer, Rice ends Fernandes debate — 5 things we learnt

The Citizens, meanwhile, are keen to bounce back from their bruising 5-1 aggregate defeat to Real Madrid in the Champions League last 16 and claim a statement win over the Gunners in their 10th final appearance in the EFL Cup.

Arsenal were the first side to book their place in the Wembley showpiece after beating London rivals Chelsea 4-2 on aggregate in the semi-final.

In doing so, the Gunners have reached their first final since August 2020 when they beat the Blues to claim the FA Cup which remains the only major trophy Mikel Arteta has won as manager.

Manchester City, for their part, destroyed holders Newcastle over two legs, winning 5-1 on aggregate. It was ruthless, efficient and familiar. Pep Guardiola’s teams rarely require second invitations in this competition, and once again they arrive as a benchmark opponent.

It will be a repeat of the 2018 final when City ran out 3-0 winners thanks to goals from Sergio Aguero, Vincent Kompany and David Silva.

As mentioned above, City won the Carabao Cup final against Arsenal back in 2018. However, the Gunners did win the most recent fixture between the two sides at Wembley.

Pep Guardiola has faced Mikel Arteta 15 times since the latter’s departure from his role as the former’s assistant manager at the Etihad Stadium. During that period, Guardiola has come away with eight wins and three draws – meaning that in 15 meetings between the two coaches, Arteta has only been able to get the win on four occasions.

Josko Gvardiol is unavailable for Manchester City for this fixture. The Croatian is recovering from a tibial fracture he sustained in a 1-1 draw against Chelsea in January. Mateo Kovacic is back and available for selection after a lengthy spell on the sidelines.

Pep Guardiola will be in the dugout at Wembley as his touchline ban does not extend to the Carabao Cup, with the Manchester City boss set to serve the second game of his suspension in the FA Cup quarter-final against Liverpool in early April.

For Arsenal, Mikel Merino is ruled out for the remainder of the season following foot surgery at the end of January. Martin Odegaard and Jurrien Timber are likely to feature despite having missed out on the last six and two fixtures respectively.

Arsenal: Raya; Timber, Gabriel, Saliba, Calafiori; Rice, Zubimendi; Saka, Eze, Martinelli; Gyokeres

Manchester City: Donnarumma; Nunes, Khusanov, Dias, Ait Nouri; Bernardo Silva, Rodri, O’Reilly; Semenyo, Haaland, Doku

A meeting in a final between the top two teams in the country points towards a fascinating tie as the winners could land a psychological blow in the Premier League title race.

Man City, particularly under Guardiola, are masters of this competition and no manager has lifted the Carabao Cup trophy more than the Spaniard.

That said, Arsenal have had City’s number in recent years and we think they will get the job done in emphatic fashion to finally end their six-year wait for some major silverware.

Correct score prediction: Arsenal 3-1 Manchester City