Just a few days on from a tough night at Anfield, it doesn’t get any easier for Eddie Howe as Manchester City arrive at St James’ Park; which is now free from Sports Direct signs splattered all over the stadium!
Guardiola’s men arrive top of the table and fresh from a 7-0 win over Leeds on Tuesday night; meaning they’ve had 48 hours more rest than our lot.
On the plus side, we put in an improved display at Liverpool, albeit in defeat. We didn’t fold like we did at Leicester, we worked our socks off and had our moments on the counter the odd time we managed to break their press.
We’ll also be playing 11 vs 11 on Sunday, which will be nice after Mike Dean’s embarrassing display on Thursday gave Liverpool a 12th man from start to finish.
Seriously though, we’ll have to be at it in all areas to cope with Man City; who put in their most devastating display of the season in midweek and arrive with a fully fit squad.
Elsewhere this weekend, we’ll also have to hope Aston Villa and Arsenal help us out, with them playing Burnley (1 point above us) and Leeds (6 points above us), respectively.
Team news
Both Jamal Lewis (hamstring) and Federico Fernandez (thigh) will be missing. Sadly, it seems neither will play again this year.
Callum Wilson could return after a rest, but he, along with Javier Manquillo and Isaac Hayden, is just one booking away from a suspension.
As for the visitors, Joao Cancelo is back from a one-match ban (sigh) and, Feran Torres aside, Pep Guardiola says he has a fully fit squad to pick from ahead of City’s trip to Tyneside.
Predicted line ups
(4-5-1): Dubravka – Krafth, Schar, Lascelles, Ritchie – Joelinton, Shelvey, S Longstaff, Willock, Almiron – Wilson.
(4-1-2-3): Ederson – Cancelo, Stones, Dias, Zinchenko – Rodri – Gundogan, De Bruyne – Foden, Jesus, Sterling.
Howe admitted that he’d need to rotate his team for this one, feeling three games in seven days is a tough task when we’ve been chasing the ball for large periods.
There’ll be a temptation to go with five at the back given City come in fresh from a 7-0 win over Leeds, but it’s not Howe’s style to park the bus. He didn’t do it at Anfield, so I can’t see him doing that at St James’ Park.
With that in mind, I can see Krafth coming in for Manquillo, who may need a rest after a few tough games against Barnes and Mane.
Ritchie will come in at left-back in Lewis’ absence, while rotation in midfield could also hand a rare opportunity to Sean Longstaff; whose fresh legs and pressing could come in handy against City.
Willock may also return to give us an option to support our attack on the counter. With Shelvey so key in helping us keep the ball and release forwards on the break, that could mean Hayden misses out?
Out wide, Joelinton and Almiron could be key in protecting both our full-backs (Almiron’s energy could be key in tracking the elusive Cancelo), while Wilson may return up top after being rested in midweek.
This would mean Saint-Maximin misses out. He may be unable to play after picking up a knock on Thursday night, but even if he’s fit, this may be a good time to keep him fresh for upcoming games against Man Utd and Everton.
Fraser had one of his best games in a black and white shirt at Liverpool, but he’s another we may want to save for upcoming games; especially when his recent injury record may not agree with him playing two tough games in the space of a few days.
Match prediction
I’m intrigued to see how we approach this one after seeing us park the bus every time we’ve faced City in recent years.
Saying that, I fear it could get ugly if we try and go toe-to-toe with a fresh and fully-fit Guardiola side who arrive on the back of a 7-0 win!
We’ll need to be everything we were at Liverpool and much better again if we’re to get anything here. Individual errors must be cut out and our decision making at the other end also must be spot on.
Hoping for a performance full of positives, even if we come away with no points.
Prediction: Newcastle 0-3 Man City
HOWAY THE LADS!
so check for an offside but not a clear pen
ok then
kimtoon(Quote)
If I was at the game I wouldnt walk out, but I have a choice at home because they are showing the Chelsea game on another channel. Painful to watch when City have all of the ball.
Eric+Sykes(Quote)
It has been another awful display by the centre backs. I think Lascelles played Mahrez onside.
Eric+Sykes(Quote)
Will there be a debate on the 1st goal? If Clark did not receive a call, then it was his fault. He was trying to be too cute. That mostly comes off, but in our situation it is not worth the risk.
Eric+Sykes(Quote)
I am going to drill this into this blog in case anybody missed it. The mandatory Ref retirement age for all UEFA competitions is 45. This is one reason why there are hardly any English Refs. The other is that they are ****.
Dean 53
Fat Boy Moss 51
Marriner 51
Atkinson 51
Eric+Sykes(Quote)
If you are 2 stone overweight (Moss) should you really be a Ref? I dont care if he can pass the fitness tests, I can see it with my own eyes that he is always behind the play. Age and fitness are issues for all teams, incompetence and bias seem to apply more to us.
Eric+Sykes(Quote)
We didnt expect much from this game but referee incompetence (inc VAR) and stupid individual errors are infuriating.
Eric+Sykes(Quote)
Ah well
thumping it is
kimtoon(Quote)
I don’t think moustache boy has touched the ball since coming on… waste of space
Gilly Toon(Quote)
When there are clear and obvious incorrect ref decisions with no VAR support, it would deflate the morale of any team. The agenda here was that the ref would not allow us to get even close to a goal. We can play against a one man advantage, but not when that one man is the referee. ???? once again we are fuc.ked in the *** by the FA and referee… on top of that we have no defence.
Gilly Toon(Quote)
I said pre kick off that their 11 v ours is leagues apart and ultimately it showed.
We gifted them the first and poor defending gave them the 2nd – our full backs switch off for their 3rd – but both had a really good game today I thought.
The lads played pretty well for the most part and we were AGAIN robbed of a penalty!!!.
Joelinton was outstanding today!!. Midfield is defo his position imo – he looked so comfortable and made a few runs with the ball too. Let down by Willock, Hayden & Longstaff alongside him mind.
We basically need a total overhaul of our defence and the new one to gel straight away – easy right?!.
Sharpy17(Quote)