Leroy Sane watches the ball into the back of the net after beating Petr Cech (Getty)

Manchester City can dent Arsenal’s Premier League title hopes and move above the Gunners in the process when they face-off at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday afternoon, with Arsene Wenger’s side looking to close the gap to runaway leaders Chelsea to six points. Follow the latest here.

Manchester City vs Arsenal kicks off at 16:00 GMT

City without suspended Sergio Aguero and Fernandinho

Ilkay Gundogan ruled out for the rest of the season with knee ligament damage

Teams:

Manchester City: Bravo; Zabaleta, Otamendi, Kolarov, Clichy; Fernando; Sané, Touré, Silva, Sterling; De Bruyne

Bravo; Zabaleta, Otamendi, Kolarov, Clichy; Fernando; Sané, Touré, Silva, Sterling; De Bruyne Subs: Caballero, Sagna, Stones, Nolito, Navas, Iheanacho, A Garcia

Caballero, Sagna, Stones, Nolito, Navas, Iheanacho, A Garcia Arsenal: Cech; Bellerin, Gabriel, Koscielny, Monreal; Coquelin, Xhaka; Walcott, Ozil, Iwobi; Sanchez.

Cech; Bellerin, Gabriel, Koscielny, Monreal; Coquelin, Xhaka; Walcott, Ozil, Iwobi; Sanchez. Subs: Ospina, Gibbs, Holding, Elneny, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Lucas, Giroud.

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Arsenal cannot afford to slip up when they travel to Manchester City on Sunday or else risk dropping nine points behind Premier League leaders Chelsea, while City also find themselves in a perilous position after a run of poor form.

With a Gunners a solitary point ahead of fourth-placed City, the match will see two sides having their title credentials tested go head to head with the loser in danger of falling out of the title picture.

City go into the match on the back foot, with Sergio Aguero and Fernandinho suspended and Ilkay Gundogan ruled out for the rest of the season after suffering a cruciate ligament injury in Wednesday’s victory over Watford.

At least City enter the match off the back of a win though. Arsenal suffered a surprising defeat at Everton on Tuesday in which they were soundly beaten by a team more determined to grab the three points. They could have Aaron Ramsey back for the match, but Arsene Wenger confirmed it comes too soon for Danny Welbeck while Shkodran Mustafi, Per Mertesacker and Santi Cazorla remain long-term absentees.

Here’s everything you need to know about the Premier League encounter.

It’s a big game for...

Nolito: The Spain international replaced youngster Kelechi Iheanacho for the win over Watford and is likely to continue as the lead striker for the visit of Arsenal. He has big shoes to fill, as the absent Aguero has scored four goals against Arsenal during his Premier League career.

Best stat...

3.2: This clash tends to produce goals, with 32 goals scored between the two sides over their last 10 meetings. City’s biggest victory remains the 6-3 demolition on December 2013, while Arsenal have not managed to better the 3-0 Community Shield victory in 2014 as their best league triumph came in the 2-0 win in January 2015.

Who to look out for...

Alexis Sanchez: The Arsenal striker is running red-hot this season and the ongoing contract negotiations with the club do not appear to be a distraction. Sanchez has 14 goals this season for his club along with two more for his country, and the Chilean now has as many league goals as Diego Costa this season along with the same number of assists in fewer minutes.

Arsenal transfer targets Show all 7 1 /7 Arsenal transfer targets Arsenal transfer targets Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Borussia Dortmund) Arsenal were reportedly interested in signing the Gabonese striker in the summer and may return with an offer to Dortmund at the end of the season. Aubameyang has been in scintillating form this season, scoring 15 goals in 15 games in all competitions. Getty Arsenal transfer targets Paul-Georges Ntep (Rennes) The left-midfielder’s deal at Rennes expires at the end of the season and so he will be free to sign a pre-contract in January. A strong dribbler of the ball, Ntep has been made two appearances for France. Getty Arsenal transfer targets Reece Oxford (West Ham) After Oxford became West Ham’s youngest ever player to appear in the Premier League at just 16 years old (his debut came against the Gunners), he immediately attracted interest from some of England’s big clubs, including Arsenal. However he is reportedly set to sign a new five-year deal. Getty Arsenal transfer targets Jose Gimenez (Atletico Madrid) The 21-year-old Uruguayan has already played 21 times for his country and has been touted as a future world-class centre-back. Currently on the books of Atletico Madrid, Gimenez is not a regular and a move in January would surely appeal to him. Getty Arsenal transfer targets Peter Gwargis - Husqvarna “Who?” you may ask. The Swedish midfielder is just 16 years old and has been compared to current Arsenal attacker Mesut Özil after he started training with the Husqvarna first team in his home country. The Gunners face competition from PSV for his signature according to the player’s representative. Getty Arsenal transfer targets Stefan de Vrij (Lazio) The Netherlands defender is contracted to Lazio until 2019 but has been linked with a move to Chelsea and Arsenal. De Vrij, who used to play for Feyenoord in his home country, has been in good form this season as Lazio sit fourth in Serie A. Getty Arsenal transfer targets Chris Smalling (Manchester United) After Jose Mourinho’s strong public criticism of the England defender, other Premier League clubs have been put on alert if Smalling decides he wants to leave the Manchester club. Getty

Likely teams...

Manchester City: Bravo; Zabaleta, Otamendi, Kolarov, Clichy; Toure, Fernando, Sterling, Silva De Bruyne; Nolito.

Arsenal: Cech; Bellerin, Gabriel, Koscielny, Monreal; Ghaka, Coquelin, Walcott, Özil, Oxlade-Chamberlain; Sanchez.

Past three meetings...

Manchester City 2 (Aguero, De Bruyne) Arsenal (Giroud, Sanchez), Premier League, May 2016.

Arsenal 2 (Walcott, Giroud) Manchester City 1 (Toure), Premier League, December 2015.

Manchester City 0 Arsenal 2 (Cazorla, Giroud), Premier League, January 2015.

Ilkay Gundogan will miss the rest of the season for City (PA)

Form...

Manchester City: DWLDLW

Arsenal: WLWWWL

Odds...

Manchester City to win: 23/20

Arsenal to win: 5/2

Draw: 13/5

(Odds provided by 888sport)

Where can you watch it...

Manchester City vs Arsenal is live on Sky Sports 1 from 15:30.

Highlights on BBC One on Monday at 22:45.