Manchester City will entertain Newcastle United at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday evening hoping to return to winning ways after failing to beat Wolverhampton Wanderers in the previous gameweek. The draw away at the Molineaux Stadium has seen Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea and Watford overtake them, all of whom have their 100% winning record in the Premier League intact.
Pep Guardiola would be looking for a strong response from his players, but it won’t be an easy task to gain maximum points on Saturday as they will be up against a Magpies side managed by Rafael Benitez. The Spanish manager is known for his tactical expertise and might have a good plan in place to get a result away at the Etihad this weekend.
On paper, this should be a no contest, but the beautiful game of football is not played on paper. Guardiola will opt for a 4-2-3-1 formation and might bring Riyad Mahrez into his first-team in place of David Silva, who could be handed a rest.
4-2-3-1 Manchester City Predicted Lineup To Face Newcastle United
Defence
Ederson is expected to continue his duties in goal for the Citizens while young keeper, Arijanet Muric takes his place on the bench. John Stones and Aymeric Laporte could start in central defence while Benjamin Mendy operates as a left wing-back and Kyle Walker uses his pace on the right side of the back four.
The City defence has failed to keep a clean sheet in each of their last two outings in the Premier League. Hence, Guardiola would be hoping that his defenders can keep things stable at the back and secure a shut-out on the day.
Midfield
İlkay Gündoğan and Fernandinho will be deployed as the holding midfielders at the centre of the park. The trio of Raheem Sterling, Bernardo Silva and Riyad Mahrez could play just ahead of them in the opposition half, looking to link up amongst each other and create some opportunities for Sergio Aguero.
Both Leroy Sane and David Silva might have to settle for a place on the bench with Guardiola often opting to rotate his players. However, Kevin De Bruyne can be ruled out of this clash after being sidelined with a serious injury earlier this month.
Attack
Sergio Aguero is expected to spearhead the Citizens’ attack on Saturday. The Argentine was guilty of missing a number of chances during his outing against Wolves last weekend. Everybody associated with Man City will hope that he can return to his goal-scoring ways this weekend against a struggling Newcastle defence.
