Manchester City travels to Newcastle United in a battle between two sides that are disappointing their supporters in the league this season. Injuries are another commonality here, as both Pep Guardiola and Eddie Howe have had to deal with the bugaboo that is missing key players due to injuries.
The major difference here being that the Geordies struggles haven’t been confined to just the league. The UEFA Champions League group stages went in totally opposite directions for these two clubs.
Newcastle United vs Manchester City FYIs
Kickoff: Sat. Jan. 13, 5:30pm, St. James Park
FA Cup Draws: go here
City Preview Content: Starting XI Prediction Team News
Newcastle Preview Content: Starting XI Prediction Team News
Transatlantic Passage: How the Premier League Redefined Soccer in America: LINK
PL Form, Standings: Man City 3rd, 40 pts, WWDWL Newcastle 9th, 29 pts, LLLWL
Google Result Probability: Man City 62% Draw 21% Newcastle 17%
City were almost perfect in Europe while Newcastle have crashed out of Europe entirely. And while neither side are where they want to be right now in the domestic table, the defending champions are in striking distance of the top while Toon is falling towards the second page of the standings.
It’s worth noting, however, what happened the last time City went to St James’ Park. That was in August of last year, and the match saw Pep Guardiola’s men stage an exciting second half comeback, scoring twice within four minutes to pull off a 3-3 draw, and rescue a point from an affair where it looked like they would get zero.
Will will see similar thrills this time?
Manchester City Starting XI Prediction at Newcastle United
Ederson; Kyle Walker, Josko Gvardiol, Ruben Dias, Sergio Gomez; Kevin De Bruyne, Rodri; Bernardo Silva, Jeremy Doku, Jack Grealish; Julian Alvarez
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He’s written for numerous publications, including the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. He regularly appears on NTD News and WGN News Now, while writing for the International Baseball Writers Association of America. You can follow the website on Twitter.