Newcastle
- Newcastle have won their last three competitive games, including a 4-3 win over Leeds and a 2-0 win over Crystal Palace.
- Eddie Howe’s pragmatic and high-energy system, based on compact defending, aggressive pressing in the front third and rapid counter-attacking or set-piece threat has turned St James’ Park into a fortress once again.
- The most obvious change has been the rotation of attacking players, which has made Newcastle a threat on the break and given their opponents something to think about in the final third.
- Isak is scoring regularly, but Harvey Barnes has been on a hot streak of late, having put two past City in the 2-1 win at St James’ in November, and then scored the winner at Leeds in their last outing.
Manchester City
- Pep Guardiola’s side are not quite at full strength after a series of challenging results in all competitions.
- Manchester City have drawn two and won three of their last five competitive matches, including 1-1 draws with Brighton and Sunderland.
- Erling Haaland led the line for the Citizens with crucial goals through December and January.
- Rodri’s return from injury has given balance to Guardiola’s midfield, which is now able to play patient possession football again.
- City are still a formidable force with Guardiola’s ability to morph into different shapes - usually a 3-2-4-1 or 3-2-5 - that create positional overloads.
- They have slipped up in two of their three away games this winter.
Head-to-Head
Recent clashes have been tightly contested, with Newcastle winning 2 - 1 at St James’ Park in November 2025 .
Key Players
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Newcastle
- Bruno Guimarães has also been a key player for the North East club, captaining the side and contributing a number of goals as well as set-piece strikes - such as the one against Palace and the penalty he won in Leeds that enabled Barnes to score the winner.
- Isak is scoring regularly, but Harvey Barnes has been on a hot streak of late.
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Manchester City
- Erling Haaland has been the talisman, leading the line with crucial goals through December and January.
- Rodri’s return has given balance to Guardiola’s midfield.
Betting Insights
- Pep Guardiola’s team are the bookmakers’ favourites at 2.25.
- The 3.27 quote for the Magpies looks too high here.
- Both teams to score is the standout bet at 1.51.
- The weather forecast for a wet and chilly night in Newcastle suggests a high-tempo end-to-end match is on the cards.
Prediction
- We expect City to try and control the first half of the match, with Newcastle looking for opportunities on the counter.
- A 1-1 draw is the most likely outcome here.
- City may nick the win if Newcastle play negatively.
