Manchester City
- City have won four of their last five competitive games, including a 3-0 victory over Fulham last weekend.
- City, who are currently second in the Premier League table with 53 points from 26 games, should have too much quality and squad depth for their mid-table visitors to handle this weekend.
- Foden’s season has taken off since Pep Guardiola switched to using him in a slightly deeper, creative role from which he can pick out defence-busting runs and supply the team’s most prolific players.
Newcastle
- Newcastle have lost three of their last five games and won just one, but the Magpies did beat Tottenham 2-1 in midweek.
- Bruno Guimarães’ hamstring injury is a big blow to the Magpies, who will be without their midfield engine against City on Saturday.
Head-to-Head
- City have won three of their last five meetings with Newcastle, including a 5 - 1 aggregate in the Carabao Cup semi-finals.
- They are expected to get the win at the Etihad this Saturday with their home-field advantage and Etihad crowd atmosphere.
Manchester City
- But he isn’t the only City player to have delivered big moments for Guardiola lately, with Rayan Cherki and Tijjani Reijnders both making big contributions in the Cup and Europe recently.
- Antoine Semenyo has also given Pep an extra option in attack and can be a weapon off the bench.
Newcastle
- Harvey Barnes is Newcastle’s biggest goal threat and his brilliant brace in their 2-1 win over City in November was one of the highlights of a memorable campaign for the club.
- Gordon has added directness and pace to Newcastle’s left-hand side while Willock and Woltemade have chipped in with goals during Howe’s recent rotation of forwards.
Betting Insights
- but there is no time to recover for City and the Manchester giants are odds-on favorites for this one at 1.44.
- Newcastle are massive outsiders at 6.5 and the draw looks a good play at 4.9.
- With both teams to score listed at 2.35 and City in top-scoring form, the short 1.4 odds on over 2.5 goals in the game look good to us.
Prediction
A 2-1 home win is the preferred correct score pick as the Etihad pitch, which should be slick and good for attacking soccer after a light rain forecast, could allow Newcastle to play on the break and cause City problems.
