Newcastle United will welcome Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium on Friday night as they look to pull off a major upset at home. The Magpies managed to earn an entertaining 4-2 win over Leicester City earlier this month, so they will be full of confidence going into this clash versus the new Premier League champions.
Steve Bruce will set his team up in a 3-5-2 formation and could be inclined to make some tweaks to his starting XI for this game. Andy Carroll, Emil Krafth and Paul Dummett might get a start as Bruce has a number of selection headaches to cope with this week. Callum Wilson will miss this match due to injury while Fabian Schar is suspended for this clash.
3-5-2 Newcastle United Predicted Lineup To Face Manchester City
Defence
Martin Dubravka will assume his goalkeeping duties for the Magpies after being rested on the bench versus the Foxes earlier this month. Karl Darlow is unavailable for this game due to injury. Bruce could opt for a back three of Emil Krafth, Federico Fernandez and Paul Dummett as they try to restrict the Man City attackers from getting in behind them too often during the game.
Ciaran Clark will offer cover for the centre-back positions on the bench.
Midfield
Miguel Almiron, Jonjo Shelvey and Joe Willock will anchor the Newcastle midfield as they try to make life difficult for Man City at the centre of the park. Matt Ritchie will get a chance to impress down the left flank while Jacob Murphy operates on the other side as the right-sided wing-back.
Sean Longstaff and Matty Longstaff will be named on the bench but could come on to add more energy to Newcastle’s midfield in the second half if required.
Attack
Allan Saint-Maximin will play alongside Andy Carroll up top. Bruce will hope that Saint-Maximin’s pace and Carroll’s physicality will be enough to cause some problems for Man City’s defenders on Friday night.
Dwight Gayle will have to be content with a place on the bench as he awaits his opportunity to shine as an impact substitute if Bruce opts to call upon his services.
