Newcastle United will be eager to return to winning ways when they welcome Manchester City to St. James’ Park on Saturday.
The 2024/25 Premier League season resumes this weekend with Gameweek 6 on Saturday. The latest round of fixtures will kick off at St. James’ Park, where Newcastle United will host reigning champions Manchester City.
Newcastle United began the 2024/25 season in decent touch, even though they did not blow their opponents away in a five-game unbeaten run at the onset of their campaign. Nevertheless, the Magpies failed to win only one of their first five outings. However, the unconvincing displays caught up to the Tyneside outfit last week, with Fulham cruising to a 3-1 victory at Craven Cottage.
That result dropped Eddie Howe’s men to sixth on the table. As for Manchester City, they have been imperious for the most part in the early days of the 2024/25 season. The Citizens sit at the summit of the Premier League, dropping points only once in five outings in the top flight.
That result came last weekend, with Manchester City salvaging a 2-2 draw against a ten-man Arsenal with one of the final kicks of the game after the Gunners camped in their box throughout the second half. Pep Guardiola’s men followed that result with a hard-fought 2-1 win over Watford in the EFL Cup third round.
The corresponding fixture last season saw Manchester City come from a goal down to beat Newcastle United 3-2 at St. James’ Park. The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at the encounter ahead of the latest meeting between the two sides.
Team News & Tactics
Newcastle United
Eddie Howe has a new injury concern hampering his preparations ahead of his side’s latest fixture. Against Manchester City on Saturday, the Newcastle United manager might be bereft of the services of six first-team players.
Howe is sweating over the fitness of Alexander Isak, who faces a race against time to overcome a toe injury. Meanwhile, Matt Targett is unavailable following an eczema flare-up. Sven Botman and Jamaal Lascelles are long-term absentees due to their knee injuries, while Lewis Miley (foot) and Callum Wilson (ankle) remain on the sidelines.
Nick Pope is an automatic pick between the sticks, with Newcastle United lining up in a 4-3-3 formation in front of him against Manchester City. The backline should feature Valentino Livramento, Fabian Schar, Dan Burn, and Lewis Hall.
As for the midfield unit, there is no looking past the dependable trifecta of Sandro Tonali, Bruno Guimaraes, and Joelinton. The trio will aim to keep things tight in the middle of the park and provide the creative impetus from the central areas. William Osula will lead the line for Newcastle United if Isak is not fit to start, with Anthony Gordon and Harvey Barnes completing the numbers in the final third.
Probable Lineup (4-3-3): Pope; Livramento, Schar, Burn, Hall; Tonali, Guimaraes, Joelinton; Gordon, Isak, Barnes
Manchester City
Unlike his counterpart in the Newcastle United dugout, Pep Guardiola does not have any new issues to deal with ahead of the trip to St. James’ Park. The Manchester City manager might be without four first-team players on Saturday.
Rodri is the most notable absentee after the Spanish international suffered a knee injury last weekend against Arsenal. Oscar Bobb (leg) is a long-term absentee, while Nathan Ake will return next month from his hamstring issue. Meanwhile, Guardiola hopes to have Kevin De Bruyne at his disposal on Saturday.
However, De Bruyne will unlikely be fit enough to start, with Bernardo Silva and Ilkay Gundogan sharing the creative workload against Newcastle United. Savinho and Jeremy Doku should be the two wide attackers, with Erling Haaland leading the line for Manchester City.
Ederson Moraes will take his usual spot between the sticks, with Manchester City lining up in a 3-2-4-1 formation in front of him, with the system likely to transition between the 3-2-4-1 and the 4-2-3-1, with Gundogan dropping deep. Manuel Akanji, Ruben Dias, Josko Gvardiol, Rico Lewis, and Mateo Kovacic will complete the numbers.
Probable Lineup (3-2-4-1): Ederson; Akanji, Dias, Gvardiol; Lewis, Kovacic; Savinho, Bernardo, Gundogan, Doku; Haaland
Key Stats
- Newcastle United’s only win over Manchester City in the last 33 top-flight meetings was a 2-1 victory at St. James’ Park in January 2019. The Citizens have scored in 31 consecutive Premier League games against the Magpies, the longest scoring streak one team has recorded against another in the competition’s history.
- Newcastle United are unbeaten in ten home league games (W6 D4) since losing 3-2 to Manchester City in January. In addition, the Magpies have scored in 21 consecutive Premier League matches at St. James’, the longest ongoing home scoring streak in the competition.
- Manchester City are unbeaten in 28 Premier League fixtures (W23 D5), two short of the club record they set in 2019. The run includes 24 Premier League matches in 2024, the longest unbeaten streak from the start of a calendar year since a 26-game sequence by Chelsea in 2008.
- Newcastle United have faced a league-high 15 shots from high turnovers this season.
- Eddie Howe has failed to win all 16 Premier League meetings with Manchester City (D1 L15), a record for most winless games by a manager against a single opponent.
Player to Watch
Mateo Kovacic
While Erling Haaland has been exceptional in the first few weeks of the 2024/25 season, much of the pre-match talk revolves around Rodri and his absence for most of the remainder of the campaign. So, Mateo Kovacic and Matheus Nunes must step up in the coming weeks, with the former our Player to Watch.
Kovacic has made his mark more often than not since joining Manchester City from Chelsea last year. However, he has never had a long run in the starting eleven, making the upcoming weeks a litmus test for the Croat. How he fares in these games will determine if the Premier League champions stick to their stance of entering the market for a replacement in January.
Prediction
Newcastle United 1-2 Manchester City
Rodri’s absence will have a multi-faceted impact on the game, as Newcastle United will play with more freedom and take the game to Manchester City. While the Magpies have not been convincing enough in the early days of the 2024/25 season, their home record is impeccable.
However, Erling Haaland is in a league of his own right now, and the other Manchester City players only need to find him in the opposition’s box to get their team a goal. That will happen again on Saturday, although the game will be too close for comfort for the reigning champions. Nevertheless, The Hard Tackle predicts a hard-fought 2-1 win for Pep Guardiola and his charges.
The result will mean Manchester City will equal Liverpool’s Premier League record from 2019 of netting multiple goals in 15 consecutive fixtures. City’s win will also help them overcome some doubts that creep in during Rodri’s absence, with the club’s last four Premier League defeats coming in his absence.