Manchester City Vs Newcastle United – Half-Time Odds
HALF-TIME: A moment of Phil Foden genius – his no-look pass teed up Almirez’s volley – was the highlight for City in a mostly low-key first half. But Newcastle had a spell toward the end and Harvey Barnes should have capitalised on a misplaced pass from Rodri but his effort was well saved by Ederson.
Manchester City
City have started the season with a pair of wins from two games and are already looking like a side that can do serious damage. However, Newcastle are a dangerous team and will provide a challenge to the champions. With a new look squad, the Magpies are beginning to show that they can compete in the Premier League’s top four.
They pushed Manchester City all the way in the Champions League and even matched them for periods of the match on Wednesday night. And with the defending champions dealing with injuries to the likes of Kevin De Bruyne and Ilkay Gundogan, it will be a huge test for them.
The game starts with City parading the treble winners’ silverware on to the pitch. Both teams are in their home kits.
Newcastle pressed well in the opening minutes but created no clear-cut chances. Kyle Walker sparks a City move with some clever footwork but the ball is cleared. Then Ederson picks out Almiron and the Norwegian drills his effort wide.
Into the second half and City are starting to dominate possession. Foden is playing well as he drops in and creates opportunities. He sets up Erling Haaland with a neat pass but the Norwegian’s shot is agonisingly wide.
There’s a bit of a lull in the action as both teams seem to be waiting for the other to make a mistake. But then Guimaraes flattens Foden and the referee books the youngster.
City are threatening to put the game out of reach with some neat play in their own half. But a ball over the top is easily gathered by Fabian Schar.
Predictions
The odds are very much in City’s favour here but this game could be a lot closer than expected. While the hosts might not have quite as many goalscoring opportunities at St James’ Park, they do offer a decent attacking threat themselves and that might make it difficult for Pep Guardiola’s side to coast to victory here.
With Kevin De Bruyne out injured, and Bernardo Silva also unavailable because of the UEFA Super Cup win over Tottenham, City do look a little vulnerable. But the Magpies have shown that they are capable of creating chances themselves, even without De Bruyne in the side and they will be eager to take advantage of City’s current fragility.
Newcastle have already taken maximum points from their opening two home games and they will be keen to add to that tally against the league’s current leaders. They have a number of talented up-and-coming players like M Bruno Guimaraes and M Erling Haaland, as well as veteran leadership in the shape of 32-year-old English D Kieran Trippier.
Both teams are creating a few chances early on. Foden finds Haaland in space and tries to put the ball past him but he gets a hand to it and clears. Trippier then floats a cross into the area but nobody can get on the end of it.
79 mins: A good period of Newcastle pressure but they fail to turn it into anything significant. Almiron breaks down the right and tries to send a curler into the box but Grealish stands firm and blocks it.
85 mins: Tino Livramento comes on for his Newcastle debut and he will be hoping to add some attacking threat to their game. They need a bit more composure in midfield though to stop City from cruising through the gears.
The last time the teams met, City won 4-0 but that was back in March and the Cityzens looked far more dominant here than they did at Burnley. They controlled the ball 69% of the time and had 10 shots on goal, with three of them finding the net.
Head-to-Head Record
Historically, City have dominated this fixture but Newcastle were able to provide a stern test last week. They dominated the early stages of the game but tiredness saw them lose their shape and City pounced to take control.
Aguero’s early goal made the difference and although a late surge saw them have a number of chances, it wasn’t enough to force a comeback. Despite the loss of key players during the summer and Kevin de Bruyne facing a 3-4 month lay-off, City’s younger talent showed their ability. Phil Foden’s sublime no-look pass teed up Julian Alvarez for the winner and this is another example of the impressive growth that City’s youngsters are making.
The result sees them maintain their unbeaten home record against the Magpies and extends their impressive run of 29 consecutive Premier League games without losing to the Tyneside club. The victory also cements their position at the top of the Power Rankings with only a handful of points behind Liverpool and Chelsea who are both still undefeated.
It will be a different kind of battle when the two sides meet again on Saturday. Newcastle will be looking to build on the momentum gained from their impressive win over Aston Villa and continue their climb up the table. City, on the other hand, will be keen to keep up their winning start to the season and add to their lead at the top of the table.
Both teams will be feeling confident heading into this game after impressive victories in their first games of 2023-24. City brushed aside Burnley at Turf Moor while Newcastle thrashed Aston Villa at St James’ Park.
These two teams have met 44 times since the inception of the Premier League in 1993 with City coming out on top 28 times and Newcastle winning 8 of those games. The average score of the matches has been 2.2 goals per match.
Lineups
Fresh off their impressive 2-0 win over Aston Villa, Manchester City will be looking to build on their early season momentum as they take on a Newcastle side that will be desperate for points after a tough opening weekend defeat. But, with Kevin De Bruyne likely to be out for the foreseeable future with a hamstring injury and other players also suffering with various ailments, it will be interesting to see how City manage to cope without their key men.
Pep Guardiola is likely to stick with the same XI that started against Villa and will only look to make slight changes in midfield. Rico Lewis could be pushed ahead of Kalvin Phillips to start alongside Rodri and Mateo Kovacic, who impressed in the pre-season friendly against Bayern Munich. Meanwhile, summer signing Phil Foden will be tasked with stretching the Newcastle defence along with Jack Grealish and Erling Haaland up front.
In goal, there is expected to be no change for Newcastle with Nick Pope a mainstay in the keeper’s jersey. However, Toon fans will be eager to see how 18-year-old Lewis Hall fare against his former club and compete with Kieran Trippier, Fabian Schar, Sven Botman and Dan Burn for the right-back berth.
The Magpies have no new injury worries following their rampant 5-1 victory against Sevilla, although Emil Krafth and Joe Willock remain out with injuries picked up in the win. Howe will probably opt to keep faith with the front-three that proved so effective last week, with Alexander Isak, Callum Wilson and Jay Barnes likely to form the attacking trio behind the rampant Erling Haaland. The Norwegian striker has the ability to stretch the defence and is capable of scoring goals with both feet, so he can be expected to lead the line for the Magpies against City. Meanwhile, fellow striker Michael Kightly should provide back-up if needed.
