Manchester City vs Newcastle United Preview

After a devastating loss to Real Madrid in the Champions League semi-final in midweek, Manchester City will turn their attention to the Premier League when they host Newcastle this Sunday.

The Cityzens were very close to booking their place in a second UCL final in a row, with just a minute of normal time in Madrid last Wednesday. But after a series of changes by both managers, Real Madrid scored two late goals inside two minutes to force the game to extra time before the in-form Karim Benzema scored in the first half of extra time to style the tie.

As a result, Pep Guardiola’s side come into this tie with only the Premier League title to fight for this season.

With Liverpool lurking, they must pick themselves back up and continue their PL title chase, otherwise they face the prospect of ending the season without a trophy.

They are currently one point behind Jurgen Klopp’s unrelenting side and could even begin this game sitting in second place given that Liverpool are in action on Saturday against Tottenham.

If the Reds win, Pep’s side will have to muster the same response as they did last time when they beat Leeds United 4-0 to reclaim the top spot after Liverpool had overtaken them with a 1-0 over Newcastle.

Given that they are unbeaten in their last eight PL games (W6, D2) they will be confident of getting a win while their unbeaten record against Newcastle in 16 home games (W14, D2) gives them the psychological advantage in this game.

Meanwhile, Newcastle will look to get back to winning ways when they travel to the Etihad on Sunday.

The visitors’ five-game-winning run was brought to a stop last time out as they were beaten 1-0 by Liverpool.

Despite that loss, the Magpies remain one of the most outstanding teams in 2022. Eddie Howe’s side have collected more PL points in 2022 (32) than any other PL team except Liverpool and Manchester City and have pulled themselves away from the relegation zone into mid-table.

With relegation concerns put to bed, they are now playing to finish in the top ten and will travel to Manchester desperate for a win. Manager Eddie Howe will also look to banish his poor record against City (L11) while a win in this game will help the Toon Army avenge their 4-0 loss to City in the reverse fixture.

Other fixtures taking place this week in the Premier League Fixtures:

Premier League Table