Newcastle United vs Manchester City

St James’ Park forms the backdrop for a mouth-watering Premier League showdown between Newcastle United and Manchester City.

Off-field turmoil seems to have found its way into Newcastle United’s locker room, as most recently testified by a disheartening 3-1 defeat at Fulham. Eddie Howe’s side relinquished their five-match unbeaten start in all competitions at Craven Cottage last time out (W4, D1), potentially opening the floodgates ahead of Manchester City’s visit. Despite taking the field amidst a ten-game unbeaten league streak at St James’ Park (W6, D4), the Magpies may not necessarily feel confident about their prospects in this fixture. The reason is simple – they have defeated this opposition in the Premier League only once since September 2005 (D5, L27). Howe’s managerial record against the Citizens cannot inspire much confidence either, considering he has overseen just one win across 18 matches from the dugout (D1, L16).

Speaking of Manchester City’s dominance in this match-up, they’ve bagged 3+ goals on their last four top-flight visits to St James’ Park (W3, D1), mustering an eye-catching 14 in this sequence! Pep Guardiola’s team will look to add to that tally this weekend after holding Arsenal to a dramatic 2-2 draw in last weekend’s ill-tempered derby, courtesy of John Stones’ 98th-minute equalizer. Yet to lose a competitive match this season (W5, D2), Man City dropped the points in the Premier League for the first time last week. However, they quickly bounced back with a 2-1 home win against Watford in midweek EFL Cup action, meaning they’ve netted at least two goals in six of their seven outings this term. City’s free-scoring form could ensure their 28-game unbeaten run in the Premier League extends this weekend (W23, D5).