Manchester City vs Newcastle United Preview

Manchester City will look to bounce back from a disappointing outing in the Champions League when they welcome Newcastle United to the Etihad this Saturday for their 25th Premier League game of the season.

City’s inconsistency this season showed up again on Tuesday as they fell to a 3-2 defeat to Real Madrid in front of their own fans. That was a third competitive defeat from six matches for Pep Guardiola’s men (W3). The hosts just can’t seem to find momentum this term, and that will be causing some trepidation as Newcastle United visit here with the pair level on points.

City can at least look to a remarkable H2H home record for comfort, winning each of their previous 15 Premier League games at the Etihad against Newcastle – only three teams have had longer such winning runs against an opponent in English top-flight history.

Their last six competitive home wins against the Magpies all came with a clean sheet, too, which perhaps makes them a timely opponent, given that Guardiola’s side has conceded in their last six competitive games.

Despite H2H history not being on their side, Newcastle won’t arrive with fear and boast the physical advantage of having not played in midweek. The Magpies come into this tie in good form too, having lost only two of their last 14 matches in any competition (W12).

Both defeats came within their five most recent matches though, and in the Premier League, hinting they could be losing some of their mid-season momentum. The good omen however, is that both defeats came at home, while on the road Eddie Howe’s side have been an irresistible force.

They’ve won all six of their recent competitive trips, and with four of those coming in the top flight, they could now win five in a row in the Premier League for only the second-ever time and first since way back in October 1993.

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

Premier League Table