Arsenal will visit Manchester City on Sunday in a meeting of the Premier League's top two finishers in each of the past two seasons, but both clubs could be missing stars who have been central to their recent successes.
The sides were again first (City) and second (Arsenal) in the early-season table entering the weekend.
City manager Pep Guardiola suggested that longtime creative midfielder Kevin De Bruyne has a chance to be involved after he was removed early from the team's 0-0 draw with Inter Milan in Uefa Champions League play on Wednesday with what appeared to be a groin issue.
Perhaps his absence would be less critical than in previous seasons. The 33-year-old has only one goal and one assist in league play, but City (4-0-0, 12 points) have still scored 11 times during their perfect start – with Erling Haaland contributing an amazing nine of those goals.
Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard will remain out, however, after suffering an ankle injury playing for Norway in the September international window.
City successfully navigated an extended absence for De Bruyne last season en route to their fourth consecutive Premier League title. But as the gap between the two clubs continues to narrow, Guardiola says it's because of Arsenal's growing ability to cope without its best players.
That doesn't mean Odegaard's loss won't be felt.
"When, year by year, Arsenal is getting better, it's because they invest a lot with the depth of their squad," Guardiola said. "But he's the captain from Arsenal and everybody knows how good a player, how exceptional a player he is."
THREE AWAY MATCHES IN EIGHT DAYS
Arsenal (3-0-1, 10 points) are also dealing with a distinct scheduling disadvantage, in which they will play a third consecutive away match in eight days, and all of heightened importance.
The Gunners edged Tottenham 1-0 last Sunday in a North London Derby decided by centre-back Gabriel's 64th-minute header, then settled for a 0-0 draw against Atalanta in Italy to open their UCL campaign on Thursday.
"We've been preparing for this since preseason," Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said. "Obviously, we knew the schedule and we knew that it's extremely rare to play in these conditions with three massive away games in (eight) days, but it was what it was so we have prepared for that, both physically, mentally and tactically."
The Gunners earned a home win and an away draw against the Cityzens last season but still fell two points shy in pursuit of their first league title since 2003-04.
Before the 2023-24 season, City had won its previous seven home Premier League matches in the series, with Arsenal's last league victory at the Etihad Stadium coming in January 2015.