Manchester City vs Newcastle United

Saturday’s Premier League action kicks off at the Etihad Stadium with a top-five six-pointer between Manchester City and Newcastle United.

Despite fielding a second-string line-up in Manchester City’s midweek FA Cup trip to second-tier Bristol City, Pep Guardiola oversaw a routine 3-0 triumph, making it six competitive games without losing (W4, D2). The ‘Citizens’ recovered well from a frustrating 1-1 draw against newly-promoted Nottingham Forest with an overwhelming 4-1 victory at Bournemouth last time out, maintaining a five-point distance on pacesetters Arsenal. Back to the Etihad, where they’ve won 14 of their previous 16 Premier League matches (D1, L1), the reigning champions are confident about extending their illustrious streak of 13 consecutive top-flight home wins over Newcastle. But if they fail to make it happen, Man City could go winless in both seasonal Premier League duels against this opposition for the first time since 2004/05.

In the meantime, visiting Newcastle United will be out to shrug off the stress following last weekend’s League Cup heartbreak as they went down 2-0 to Manchester United in the title decider, stretching their winless run in all competitions to four games (D2, L2). Moreover, Newcastle’s pursuit of a first top-four finish in the Premier League since 2002/03 is under serious threat following a disappointing four-match winless league streak (D3, L1). Yet, with two games in hand, Eddie Howe’s team must be confident about whittling down a four-point gap on fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur. Achieving that feat will require Newcastle to rediscover their scoring touch after bagging a measly average of 0.5 goals per game across their last four league outings.