Newcastle – Manchester City (Premier League)
After an important victory in their last match, Newcastle are now back to St. James Park, where they will be up against the mighty Manchester City in a tie for the twentieth matchday of Premier League. Newcastle moved out of the bottom three, courtesy of a 3-2 win at West Ham’s ground on Saturday, and put an end to a sequence of 9 winless games in a row. Manchester City, on their turn, continue to tear apart whoever gets in their way, they are completely isolated at the top of the table and have won all of their last 17 matches in the Premier League.
Newcastle are in 15th place with 18 points, from 5 victories, 3 draws and 11 defeats, with 19 goals scored and 29 goals conceded. The Magpies are going through a very bad moment in the Premier League and were already in the relegation zone, with the victory in their last match, against West Ham, moving the team out of the bottom three and putting an end to 9 consecutive games without a win, losing 8 out of those 9 matches.
That victory against West Ham should give Rafa Benitez’s side some confidence ahead of this daunting fixture, and any result here that isn’t a defeat would be very positive for them. Still, they are only 2 points above the bottom three and need to get a good run of results quickly to avoid future problems. At home, the Magpies lost their previous 4 Premier League matches, scoring only 2 goals and conceding 8 in the process.
In their last 5 official matches, Newcastle has a record of 1 victory and 4 defeats. This sequence of results started with a 3-1 defeat against Chelsea. This result was followed by a 2-3 defeat against Leicester City, a 1-0 defeat against Everton, a 1-0 defeat against Arsenal, and in their last match, a 2-3 victory against West Ham. Mitrovic and Jesús Gámez are out, both injured.
Probable Lineup: Elliot – Yedlin, Lascelles, Lejeune and Manquillo – Merino, Hayden, Ritchie and Atsu – Joselu – Gayle.
Manchester City, on their turn, are in 1st place with 55 points, from 18 victories and 1 draw, with 60 goals scored and 12 conceded. Manchester City made another victim on Saturday, receiving and trashing Bournemouth 4-0 adding more 3 points, which combined with Manchester United draw against Leicester City, left Pep Guardiola’s men even more isolated at the top of the league table, with 13 points above the Red Devils by the end of the 20th Premier League round.
The Citizens are storming their way to the title and have now won their last 17 Premier League matches in a row, a record that leaves the closing in on Bayern Munich’s record of 19 straight wins in Europe’s top five league history. Pep Guardiola’s men have the best attack and the best defense in the Premier League, having an average of 3 goals scored per game and are arguably one of the best football teams in Europe at the moment, showing an absolute control of the game in the opposition’s midfield and have a great versatility in the offensive process. With a tight schedule in this festive season, there are some changes expected in the initial XI, but it would be a shock if City didn’t pick up all three points.
In their last 5 official matches, Manchester City has a record of 4 victories and 1 draw. This sequence of results started with a 1-2 victory against Manchester United. This result was followed by a 0-4 victory against Swansea City, a 4-1 victory over Tottenham, a 1-1 draw against Leicester City, for the EFL Cup, and in their last match, a 4-0 victory over Bournemouth. Benjamin Mendy, John Stones and Phil Foden are all out due to injury.
Probable Lineup: Ederson – Danilo, Mangala, Otamendi and Delph – Fernandinho, Gundogan and David Silva – Bernardo Silva, Jesus and Sané.
Manchester City has won 6 of the previous 8 direct clashes, drawing 1 and losing the remaining.
| Newcastle | 1-1 | Manchester City |
Premier League 2015/16
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| Manchester City | 6-1 | Newcastle |
Premier League 2015/16
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| Manchester City | 5-0 | Newcastle |
Premier League 2014/15
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| Manchester City | 0-2 | Newcastle |
Capital One Cup 2014/15
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| Newcastle | 0-2 | Manchester City |
Premier League 2014/15
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| Newcastle | 0-2 | Manchester City |
Premier League 2013/14
|
| Newcastle | 0-2(a.p.) |
 Manchester City |
Capital One Cup 2013/14
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| Manchester City | 4-0 | Newcastle |
Premier League 2013/14
|
Manchester City have been in superb form this season, they are playing a interesting football and are putting on a show in every match. This trip to St. James Park will be no different, with the Citizens having enough quality to pick up more 3 points.
