Arsenal and Manchester City open their 2018-19 campaigns on Sunday, with the reigning Premier League champions travelling to the Emirates Stadium for the evening kick off.
Unai Emery has been appointed to lead the Gunners' charge back into the Champions League, while Pep Guardiola and his men are looking to defend their crown.
City were record-breaking winners last term , achieving the 100 point-mark on the final day of the season with a 1-0 victory at Southampton, and beat Arsene Wenger's Arsenal both home and away.
Guardiola faces a different task this time around, however, with long-time foe Emery now at the helm.
Ahead of the tie, Goal takes a look at everything you need to know.
| Game | Arsenal vs Man City |
| Date | Sunday, August 12 |
| Time | 4pm BST / 11am ET |
TV Channel, Live Stream & How To Watch
In the United States (US) the game can be watched live on TV on NBC Sports, or via the NBC Sports App.
| US TV channel | Online stream |
|---|---|
| NBC Sports | NBC Sports App |
In the United Kingdom (UK), the game can be watched live on TV via Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Premier League, or via the Sky Go app.
| UK TV channel | Online stream |
|---|---|
| Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports Premier League | Sky Go |
Squads & Team News
| Position | Arsenal players |
|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | Cech, Ospina, Leno |
| Defenders | Bellerin, Lichtsteiner, Holding, Mustafi, Mavropanos, Papastathopoulos, Monreal, Nelson, Maitland-Niles |
| Midfielders | Xhaka, Elneny, Torreira, Guendouzi, Ramsey, Mkhitaryan, Ozil |
| Forwards | Iwobi, Welbeck, Lacazette, Aubameyang |
Arsenal starting XI: Cech; Bellerin, Mustafi, Sokratis, Maitland-Niles; Guendouzi, Xhaka; Ramsey, Ozil; Aubameyang
Subs: Leno, Holding, Lichtsteiner, Elneny, Torreira, Iwobi, Lacazette
| Position | Man City players |
|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | Ederson, Bravo, Walker |
| Defenders | Danilo, Kompany, Stones, Laporte, Otamendi, Mendy |
| Midfielders | Gundogan, Fernandinho, Delph, De Bruyne, D Silva, B Silva, Foden, Diaz |
| Forwards | Sterling, Sane, Mahrez, Aguero, Jesus |
Manchester City Starting XI: Ederson; Walker, Stones, Laporte, Mendy; Fernandinho (C), Gündogan; Bernardo, Mahrez, Sterling; Agüero
Subs: Bravo, Kompany, De Bruyne, Sané, Otamendi, Jesus, Foden
Betting & Match Odds
Manchester City are strong favourites to open their season with a win, with dabblebet pricing Guardiola's side at 10/11. An Arsenal victory comes in at 3/1, while a draw is 11/4.
Match Preview
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City were runaway title winners last term and Guardiola rightly took the plaudits.
The Catalan's side suffered just two Premier League defeats, against Liverpool and Manchester United, as the Etihad side clinched a 100-point finish in his second season in charge.
Talk has turned to whether or not City can match last season's masterpiece, though Guardiola is refusing to look too far in the future.
"The target is to win on Sunday and then, after that, against Huddersfield and then Wolves. At the end we will see our level," he told reporters.
"I am focused on that, not focused on back-to-back titles.
"Winning is the best motivation and we will try to continue what we have done. Last season we were so happy. Why not try it again?"
City face a difficult opening fixture, though, with Emery having added a number of fresh faces in his fight to fire Arsenal back into the Champions League.
Leno , Lichtsteiner, Sokratis , Torreira and Guendouzi have all been added to Emery's squad as the north London outfit look to improve on last season's finish of sixth.
And rather than being overwhelmed at the size of the task at hand on Sunday, Emery is eagerly anticipating the meeting with what was considered by many as the greatest side to have ever graced the English top flight last year.
"We are excited," Emery told reporters. "We have a lot of ambition to start well on Sunday against the last winners of the Premier League. Also, I think that it's a big and great match that we can play to start this season.
"It's easier to speak here than to do it on the pitch. City, I think, after two years of working with Guardiola they have more stability, more security and when you watch City's matches, they are playing with a very, very great confidence in themselves.
"Also, I think that Guardiola's coaching is clear in this team. For that, we are working this week and preparing for this game and preparing for the opposition against City as a collective and as individual players.
"Above all, it's about confidence in ourselves to play the best match on Sunday. We are thinking only to win the match."
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