Manchester City need to reel leaders Arsenal back in as they take on Newcastle in today’s lunchtime kick-off.
Respective wins over Bournemouth and Leicester last weekend saw the gap at the Premier League summit remain at two points, only for the Gunners to then thrash relegation-threatened Everton in their game in hand in midweek to extend their advantage to five.
City are playing early today and will be desperate to avoid any slip-ups that would see Arsenal likely quickly expand that lead even further as they entertain lowly Bournemouth later on.
CLICK HERE TO FOLLOW MAN CITY VS NEWCASTLE LIVE!
Pep Guardiola’s side got back on track after frustrating draws with Nottingham Forest and RB Leipzig by demolishing Bournemouth themselves last weekend, before booking an FA Cup quarter-final spot with a Phil Foden-inspired 3-0 win at Championship outfit Bristol City.
They face a wounded animal in a Newcastle team that will be desperate to bounce back from falling to Manchester United in the Carabao Cup final - their first Wembley appearance for a major cup final in 24 years.
Eddie Howe’s Magpies currently sit fifth in the table and four points adrift of Tottenham in fourth, but now with two games in hand. Newcastle are actually on a four-match winless run across all competitions at present and have not won in the top-flight since January 15 in the race for Champions League qualification.
Date, kick-off time and venue
Manchester City vs Newcastle is scheduled for a 12:30pm GMT kick-off today on Saturday March 4, 2023.
The match will take place at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester.
Where to watch Man City vs Newcastle
TV channel: In the UK, today’s game will be televised live on BT Sport 1, with coverage beginning at 11:30am.
Live stream: Subscribers can also catch the game live online via the BT Sport app and website.
Live blog: You can follow all the action this afternoon via Standard Sport’s live blog.
Man City vs Newcastle team news
City welcomed back Kevin De Bryune from illness against Bristol City, with the Belgian playmaker getting the full 90 minutes at Ashton Gate.
Centre-backs John Stones and Aymeric Laporte are also back in training as they bid to return from a hamstring injury and illness respectively.
Ederson’s understudy Stefan Ortega was also forced off at half-time in midweek due to a hand issue, but has also trained in recent days.
For Newcastle, goalkeeper Nick Pope returns from suspension after his red card in the defeat by Liverpool that ruled him out of the Carabao Cup final, with Loris Karius making his first competitive start for more than two years instead with usual deputy Martin Dubravka cup-tied.
Influential midfielder Bruno Guimaraes is fine to start after twisting his ankle again at Wembley, while Emil Krafth is a long-term absentee. Ryan Fraser has been banished to train with the Under-21s and appears to have no future at the club.
Man City vs Newcastle prediction
Arsenal’s impressive resurgence after a three-game mini-blip early last month that included that 3-1 home defeat by City means that Guardiola’s men can ill-afford any more mistakes in an engrossing title battle.
The defending champions have been back on the goal trail in the last two games, hitting seven - with Erling Haaland now on an incredible 33 for the season across all competitions - after failing to fire against both Forest and Leipzig.
The league’s top scorers have the best home record in the division with 10 wins from 12 games, scoring 41 times in the process.
I expect them to win again comfortably here, though it’s a difficult test on paper and I doubt they will thrash a Newcastle side admittedly now struggling a bit for form but one who have conceded only seven goals on the road all season.
Manchester City to win, 2-0.
Head to head (h2h) history and results
City have won six of the last seven games between these two sides, though needed a brilliant fightback to claim a thrilling 3-3 draw at St James’ Park back in August.
Newcastle’s only win over City since 2014 came with a 2-1 triumph on home soil four years ago.
Man City wins: 74
Newcastle wins: 72
Draws: 41
Man City vs Newcastle match odds
Man City to win: 4/7
Newcastle to win: 9/2
Draw: 16/5
