Fireworks will be lit at Wembley on Sunday, as Arsenal and Manchester City take center stage in the EFL Cup final. The Gunners are competing in their first Carabao Cup final in eight years and are seeking to end their six-year trophy drought.
City, for their part, are seeking to win a ninth EFL Cup crown and fifth under Pep Guardiola's tutelage.
Arsenal are coming into the game on the back of a routine 2-0 home win over Bayer Leverkusen in the second leg of their UEFA Champions League round-of-16 tie. Eberechi Eze and Declan Rice scored wonder strikes in either half to help their side book a quarterfinal date with Sporting CP following a 3-1 aggregate victory.
City, meanwhile, were dumped out of the UCL by Real Madrid with a 2-1 defeat at home. Vinicius Junior was the star of the show as he scored a brace to complete a 5-1 aggregate victory for Los Blancos.
Arsenal booked their spot in the League Cup final with a 4-2 aggregate win over Chelsea in the semifinal. City eliminated Newcastle 5-1 on aggregate.
Arsenal vs Manchester City Head-to-Head and Key Numbers
This will be the 215th head-to-head meeting between the two sides. Arsenal were victorious 101 times, and Manchester City have 65 wins to their name, while 48 games were drawn.
One of those stalemates came in their most recent clash in September 2025 when they canceled each other out in a 1-1 draw.
Six of the last eight head-to-head games have seen both sides find the back of the net.
Arsenal are currently on a 14-game unbeaten run across all competitions (11 wins).
City have won each of their last seven EFL Cup finals, last losing a final in 1973-74.
Six of Arsenal's last eight goals in the EFL Cup have come in the second half.
City have kept just one clean sheet in their last eight games away from the Etihad Stadium.
Arsenal vs Manchester City Prediction
Arsenal's magnificent season continued in midweek, with their UCL quarterfinal spot meaning they are still on course for a unique quadruple. Mikel Arteta's side have not won the EFL Cup since 1992-93 and have lost their last three finals, most recently to City in 2018.
That victory was the first of four successive EFL Cup triumphs for City under Pep. This might represent City's most realistic hope for a title this season, as they are nine points behind in the league and have also been knocked out of the UCL.
We expect Arsenal to claim a narrow victory with goals at both ends.
Prediction: Arsenal 2-1 Manchester City
Arsenal vs Manchester City Betting Tips
Tip 1 - Arsenal to win
Tip 2 - Both teams to score
Tip 3 - Over 2.5 goals