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Newcastle logo
Premier League | Gameweek 36
May 14, 2021 at 8pm UK
St James' Park
Manchester City logo

Newcastle
3 - 4
Man City

Krafth (25'), Joelinton (45+6' pen.), Willock (62')
Ritchie (36'), Shelvey (59')
FT(HT: 2-2)
Cancelo (39'), Torres (42', 64', 66')
Rodri (44'), Cancelo (56')

Preview: Newcastle United vs. Manchester City - prediction, team news, lineups

Sports Mole previews Friday's Premier League clash between Newcastle United and Manchester City, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Manchester City travel to Newcastle United on Friday night in their first match since being officially crowned Premier League champions.

The Citizens lost 2-1 to Chelsea last time out, but Manchester United's home loss to Leicester City on Tuesday evening made certain of a fifth title in 10 seasons.

As for Newcastle, they are now assured of Premier League safety thanks to an upturn in results that has eased the pressure on boss Steve Bruce.


Match preview

Manchester City's Ruben Dias and John Stones celebrate after the match on May 4, 2021© Reuters

With the EFL Cup and Premier League now in the bag, City's main focus over the remaining few weeks of the season is to complete a famous treble by winning the Champions League.

Chelsea await in the final on May 29 - whether that be in Istanbul, London or Lisbon - but Pep Guardiola's men have three more league games to play before then.

Momentum will be key, of course, and the Citizens will be eager to quickly respond to last week's disappointing loss at the hands of the Blues on home soil.

Raheem Sterling gave City the lead just before half time and they would have been crowned champions on their own turf had the scoreline stayed that way.

However, Sergio Aguero's fluffed Panenka penalty moments later proved costly as goals from Hakim Ziyech and Marcos Alonso earned Thomas Tuchel's side a 2-1 comeback win.

A fifth Premier League defeat of the campaign did not matter all that much, though, thanks to Leicester's victory at Old Trafford on Tuesday to officially end the title race.

City do still have targets to aim for, however, including an all-time record for successive away wins in the top four tiers of English league football.

Newcastle United's Callum Wilson celebrates scoring their third goal on May 7, 2021© Reuters

That record is currently jointly-held by City themselves and Chelsea, but a win at St James' Park would move the Citizens outright in front with 12 on the spin.

Newcastle will be out to stop that from happening, and they showed last week exactly what they are capable of when the pressure is off.

The Magpies raced four goals ahead against Leicester at the King Power Stadium and, while City did make things interesting with two late goals, a 4-2 win was still a great result.

That was United's third win in five matches, the other wins in that sequence coming against Burnley and West Ham United, and they are assured of top-flight football next season.

Bruce has now challenged his side to better last season's points tally of 44, which they are five short of with three games to go.

With already-relegated Sheffield United and Fulham to play in their final two matches, there is no reason why the Magpies cannot achieve that target and end the season on a high.

Picking up a positive result on Friday is not out of the question, either, given that City have won just one of their last four away league games against Newcastle.

Newcastle United Premier League form:
  • D
  • W
  • W
  • D
  • L
  • W

Manchester City Premier League form:
  • W
  • W
  • L
  • W
  • W
  • L

Manchester City form (all competitions):
  • W
  • W
  • W
  • W
  • W
  • L



Team News

Manchester City's Kevin De Bruyne pictured in action against Chelsea in the FA Cup on April 17, 2021© Reuters

Guardiola will want his City players in prime condition for the Champions League final, so the Catalan coach will be smart with his team selection between now and then.

Star man Kevin De Bruyne missed out against Chelsea for fitness reasons and will not be risked here if he is not 100%.

The likes of Phil Foden, Ilkay Gundogan and Bernardo Silva were named among the substitutes against Chelsea and should each return to the starting lineup here.

Aguero is among those expected to make way after costing City victory against Chelsea, paving the way for Gabriel Jesus to return up top, while John Stones is back from suspension.

Newcastle also have a player banned for this match, with defender Fabian Schar once again absent following his red card in the defeat to Arsenal last time out at St James' Park.

Five others are expected to miss out through injury, including 12-goal striker Callum Wilson, who will play no further part this season because of a hamstring problem.

Ciaran Clark is pushing for inclusion after shaking off an injury issue, while Joe Willock seems certain to start after scoring for the fourth game running last Friday.

Newcastle United possible starting lineup:
Dubravka; Fernandez, Clark, Dummett; Murphy, Almiron, Shelvey, Willock, Ritchie; Saint-Maximin, Joelinton

Manchester City possible starting lineup:
Ederson; Walker, Stones, Dias, Zinchenko; Silva, Rodrigo, Gundogan; Mahrez, Jesus, Foden


SM words green background

We say: Newcastle United 1-1 Manchester City

City have wrapped up the title with a few games to spare and can now afford to switch focus to their upcoming Champions League final clash with Chelsea.

Guardiola will likely chop and change his side over the next fortnight with that game in mind, which Newcastle could take advantage of.

The Magpies cruised to victory against Leicester last week and took points off Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur last month, and we can see them claiming a point on Friday night.



Top tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting an away win in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Away Win:data


Video prediction

Watch the Sports Mole Football Shorts prediction for this game below:



ID:447135:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:collect11706:
Written by
Daniel Lewis

Data Analysis

Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Manchester City win with a probability of 82.76%. A draw had a probability of 11.6% and a win for Newcastle United had a probability of 5.68%.

The most likely scoreline for a Manchester City win was 0-2 with a probability of 12.16%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 0-3 (11.68%) and 0-1 (8.43%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (5.48%), while for a Newcastle United win it was 1-0 (1.9%). The actual scoreline of 3-4 was predicted with a 0.4% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Manchester City would win this match.


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Game History

How you voted: Newcastle vs Man City

Newcastle United
20.6%
Draw
15.6%
Manchester City
63.8%
326
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Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool14112129111835
2Chelsea1594235181731
3Arsenal1585229151429
4Manchester CityMan City158342721627
5Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest157441918125
6Aston Villa157442323025
7Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton156632522324
8Bournemouth157352320324
9Brentford157263128323
10Fulham156542220223
11Tottenham HotspurSpurs1562731191220
12Newcastle UnitedNewcastle155551921-220
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd155461918119
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham155372028-818
15Everton143561421-714
16Leicester CityLeicester153572130-914
17Crystal Palace152761420-613
18Ipswich TownIpswich151681427-139
19Wolverhampton WanderersWolves1523102338-159
20Southampton1512121131-205


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