Newcastle United manager Rafael Benitez has claimed that Manchester City could be distracted by their upcoming Champions League semi-final against Real Madrid when they travel to St James' Park on Tuesday.
The Magpies are in the midst of a relegation battle and are three points from Premier League safety with five games left to play.
Benitez recorded his first victory as Newcastle boss last weekend when his side picked up a 3-0 win over Swansea City.
They face a City team who are third in the table, 13 points behind leaders Leicester City, but Benitez believes that their focus will be elsewhere.
"In the back of your head you are thinking about a semi-final or final and if you are going to get an injury," FourFourTwo quotes Benitez as saying.
"They are professionals and will try to win but in the back of their mind they won't want to miss a game through injury. I think they have an eye on the Champions League and hopefully we can take advantage.
"If we believe from the first minute until the last one then we can beat anyone on our day. The way we won with passion, intensity and character against Swansea is credit to our fans and players. We have to show it every game now."
City will play Madrid in the first leg of their semi-final on April 26.
Danielle Joynson
