Manchester City host Arsenal this afternoon as both sides look to keep pace with Premier League leaders Chelsea.

Pep Guardiola’s City picked up a vital 2-0 win over Watford in midweek to end a run of four home league games without a victory, while Arsene Wenger’s Gunners lost for just the second time this season when they went down 2-1 at Everton on Tuesday.

Consequently, there is just one point separating the two sides ahead of this afternoon’s encounter, with Wenger’s men third in the table, a place ahead of Guardiola’s side.

The Gunners go into this one off the back of that frustrating defeat at Goodison Park on Tuesday, but prior to that they had won five and drawn twice on the road this season, scoring 18 goals in the process.

Thus, they’ll hope to get back to winning ways at the Etihad today, although City have only lost to Chelsea at home this season, albeit that was only a few weeks ago.

Nonetheless, it is sure to be an exciting encounter in Manchester this afternoon, so here are THREE key battles that may well decide the outcome later on today…

Nicolas Otamendi v Alexis Sanchez

Alexis Sanchez is one of the most in-form forwards in the Premier League at present, and netted his 12th goal of the campaign away at Everton on Tuesday night.

Add that to his incredible hat-trick away at West Ham a few weeks back, and a brace at Sunderland in October, and the Chilean has scored six goals in his last four away Premier League matches.

And the man tasked with keeping the 27-year-old quiet is Nicolas Otamendi, who has produced some brilliant and some not so brilliant displays at the back for City this season.

Up until the Chelsea game, the Argentine was arguably their best defender of the campaign, with the 28-year-old less rash and more controlled in his defending, yet he was significantly below par against the Blues, and in turn picked up his fifth yellow card of the season to earn a one-match suspension.

However, he was part of the City defence that kept a clean sheet against Watford on Wednesday, and with Arsenal likely to play Sanchez up top once again, it will be up to Otamendi to keep him well marshalled throughout the contest, otherwise City could be in for a long afternoon.

Raheem Sterling v Nacho Monreal

One of Arsenal’s biggest issues this season has been defending against pace, with both Nacho Monreal and Shkodran Mustafi coming unstuck against that exact thing.

And, with Mustafi unavailable due to injury, Monreal will once again come up against a pacey winger in the form of Raheem Sterling this afternoon.

The City star has been in decent form for Guardiola’s side this season, netting five goals and laying on seven assists in all competitions so far, but it has gone a bit dry on the goals front in recent times, with the former Liverpool man not finding the net since September 28 at Celtic.

However, despite an indifferent few games, Sterling was much improved against Watford in midweek and assisted David Silva’s late strike, so goes into this game full of confidence after a decent week.

And, as we have seen before, a confident Sterling is a tough prospect for any Premier League defender, not least one who has struggled against pace this season.

How well Monreal, and Arsenal in general, deal with Sterling down the right could be a huge factor in determining the outcome of today’s encounter.

Yaya Toure v Granit Xhaka

Like many Premier League matches, today’s is likely to be won by the side that dominates and controls from the middle of the park.

And both sides are likely to line up with midfielders who are sometimes ill-disciplined in the midfield role, but ill-disciplined for different reasons.

City’s Toure has been drafted back in from the cold after three months without an appearance, and he produced a man-of-the-match performance, in the midfield role, in their 2-1 win over Crystal Palace on November 19.

However, the Ivorian sometimes drifts too far forward and neglects his more defensive duties and, with Fernandinho suspended, he cannot afford to do that against Arsenal, with the likes of Mesut Ozil and Theo Walcott ready to pounce.

On the other hand, Arsenal’s Xhaka elbowed Stoke’s Joe Allen last week and, although the Swiss international has improved his disciplinary record from the first few months, there are still a few question marks surrounding the 24-year-old.

What is not in question is both players’ ability in the centre of the park, with both having dominated games from there at times this season.

Winning that battle this afternoon is likely to be crucial in how the game goes, and ultimately who gets the points.