EFL Cup final football tips and predictions – Copybet

Arsenal may not have quite been firing on all cylinders over recent games, but crucially they have been doing enough to extend their lead at the top of the table, while also progressing in the Champions League.

Questions have been asked of their mental strength in the title race and they seem to have come up with the answers as they edge ever closer to ending their 21-year Premier League title drought.

If anything, it is Manchester City who have shown more frailty, failing to beat relegation-threatened sides Nottingham Forest and West Ham in their last two Premier League matches to slip further behind the Gunners, while they were beaten home and away by Real Madrid in the Champions League, which will surely have dented their confidence.

Of course, there were extenuating circumstances for the 2-1 defeat at the Etihad as Bernardo Silva was sent off in the 20th minute, but defensive frailties have been a problem all season and Arsenal can expose them once again on Sunday.

Arsenal have not lost any of their last six meetings with City and, although four of those have ended in draws, they are playing with more confidence and can register the win on Sunday.

It was quite telling that in the 1-1 draw at the Emirates back in September that Pep Guardiola's side reverted to a low block to protect their ninth-minute 1-0 lead, suggesting a lack of confidence at both ends of the pitch against the top sides, and Arsenal can maintain their upper hand at Wembley.

While these are the two best attacking sides in the Premier League, they are also statistically the two best defensive sides and that might play out more decisively at Wembley.

The top-flight meeting between these two in September resulted in a 1-1 draw, the fourth time in the last six head-to-heads that there have been fewer than three goals, and it is not hard to see a similar outcome this weekend.

Mikel Arteta's men have not won this competition since 1993 and are bidding for a quadruple this season, while City are running out of chances to win silverware, given their deficit in the title race as well as their Champions League exit, not to mention the fact they face Liverpool in the FA Cup quarter-finals.

There is too much at stake to think this is going to end up in a goal-fest, particularly considering that five of the last seven finals have seen less than three goals too.

Bernardo Silva looks set to play in City's midfield and is well worth considering in the card markets, even if his primary role will be trying to create a breakthrough for his side.

The Gunners will no doubt enjoy periods of dominance and control in the contest and Silva might find himself under pressure to try and stem the tide.

While he will be relatively fresh after being sent off after just 20 minutes in Tuesday's 2-1 home defeat to Real, it is worth noting that he has been given 13 yellow cards in 40 other appearances in all competitions for City this season.

The Gunners have plenty of attacking and creative options both centrally and out wide, and Silva could easily fall foul of the referee as he looks to repel Arsenal attacks, as he did at the Emirates in September and in last season's 2-2 draw with the north Londoners at the Etihad.