Manchester City will lock horns with Newcastle United at St. James’ Park on Friday evening as they look to earn maximum points at home. The Mancunian outfit suffered a disappointing 2-1 loss against Chelsea last weekend, so they will be eager to return to winning ways versus the Magpies after being confirmed as the new Premier League champions earlier this week.
Pep Guardiola will opt for a 4-2-3-1 formation and could be inclined to make a few changes to his first-team for this clash. The Man City boss is expected to make a whole host of changes to his starting XI for this game. Kyle Walker, Ilkay Gundogan, Phil Foden and Oleksandr Zinchenko could all start as Guardiola looks to freshen up his first-team later this week.
4-2-3-1 Manchester City Predicted Lineup Vs Newcastle United
Defence
Ederson will operate in between the sticks for the Mancunian giants after shipping in two goals versus the Blues last weekend. Aymeric Laporte will resume his centre-back partnership with Ruben Dias as they focus on keeping Newcastle’s Allan Saint-Maximin quiet throughout the game.
Kyle Walker could get the nod to function at right-back while Oleksandr Zinchenko looks to impress on the other side as the left-back. Guardiola will instruct both his full-backs to press the Magpies high up the field so that they can win the ball back quickly and create some decent openings for the front players.
Nathan Ake and Benjamin Mendy will have to be content with a place on the bench as they offer cover for the defensive positions.
Midfield
Ilkay Gundogan and Rodri will anchor the Man City midfield as they look to dominate possession at the centre of the park and find some holes in the Newcastle backline. The talented trio of Phil Foden, Kevin De Bruyne and Riyad Mahrez will function just ahead of them as part of Guardiola’s attack. All three Man City attackers will have to be at the top of their game if they are to break down the Magpies defence on Friday.
Fernandinho and Ferran Torres will make up the numbers on the bench as they wait for their chance to shine in the second half if Guardiola decides to call upon their services.
Attack
Bernardo Silva could get a chance to catch the eye as a makeshift centre-forward up top. Guardiola will rely on the Portuguese winger’s work ethic to tire the Newcastle defenders while both Sergio Aguero and Gabriel Jesus settle for a spot on the bench.
