Manchester City will host Newcastle United in the Premier League on Saturday to continue adding pressure on league leaders Arsenal at the top of the table.
BestofBets takes a look at a detailed match preview of this clash!
Match Details:
Location: Manchester, England
Stadium: Etihad Stadium
Date: Saturday, 4 March
Kick-off Time: 12:30 GMT / 07:30 ET / 04:30 PT
Referee: Simon Hooper
VAR: Michael Salisbury
Team News:
Manchester City are still sweating over John Stones’ fitness after a hamstring injury against Arsenal in the FA Cup third round. He may be in the squad, but most probably won’t start. Aymeric Laporte could make a return to the squad after illness.
For Newcastle, Matt Targett and Joe Willock will miss the trip to Manchester whereas a late decision will be taken on Bruno Guimaraes, who played with injury in the Cup final. Nick Pope is expected to return from his suspension.
Head to Head record in last five games:
Man City wins: 4
Newcastle wins: 0
Draws: 1
Predicted Lineups:
Man City – Ederson; Walker, Dias, Laporte; Gundogan, Rodri; Mahrez, Bernardo Silva, De Bruyne, Foden; Haaland.
Newcastle – Pope; Trippier, Schar, Botman, Burn; Longstaff, Guimaraes, Joelinton; Murphy, Isak, Saint-Maximin.
Last 5 games in all competitions:
Man City – W D D W W
Newcastle – W D D L L
Prediction:
It will be interesting to see how Newcastle United react to their Carabao Cup final defeat at the hands of Manchester United.
Manchester City, meanwhile, will continue to push their bid to challenge Arsenal for the Premier League title.
BestofBets think this will be a 2-0 win for Manchester City.
Players who you can bet on for a great performance:
Kevin De Bruyne:
On his day, Kevin De Bruyne could single handedly lead Manchester City to a commanding win against any given opponent. We think this game will be one where he comes up and reminds everyone he is still the best in the business. Expect him to find gaps in a strong Newcastle defence which could still not be 100% after a tiring Cup final.
Allan Saint-Maximin:
French attacker Allan Saint-Maximin is in imperious form this season and is key to Newcastle’s hopes of getting any kind of result against the Cityzens. The Magpies will mostly play this game on counter-attack which could see Saint-Maximin exploit some spaces in attacking areas. Watch out for him!
Erling Haaland:
Erling Haaland has made a mockery out of the Premier League, scoring almost in every game that he has played this season. Expect him to make his trademark smart runs into Newcastle’s box and score. You can bet on him to score a brace today against what will still be a knackered Newcastle defence from a difficult Cup final game.
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