Manchester City will travel to St. James Park to take on Newcastle United on Saturday afternoon hoping to pick up a victory on the road. The Citizens come into this contest at the back of a 1-1 draw at home against Shakhtar Donetsk in the UEFA Champions League.
Pep Guardiola will be desperate to see his side return to their winning ways when they make the trip to Tyneside this weekend. The Mancunian outfit could set themselves up in a 4-3-3 formation with Gabriel Jesus expected to lead the line up top.
4-3-3 Manchester City Predicted Lineup To Face Newcastle United
Defence
Ederson will keep his place in between the sticks for the Citizens despite failing to keep a clean sheet in midweek. Fernandinho will likely play alongside John Stones at the centre of the Man City backline. The defensive duo will have to find a way to neutralise the threat of Newcastle’s Joelinton later this week.
Benjamin Mendy is expected to get another chance to impress from the left-back position. Joao Cancelo might continue to feature for the Citizens down the right flank. The Portuguese defensive ace will be tasked to deal with Allan Saint-Maximin’s pace so he will be in for a tough day at Tyneside.
Kyle Walker and Nicolas Otamendi will have to wait for their opportunity on Guardiola’s bench. However, both Oleksandr Zinchenko and Aymeric Laporte won’t be available for selection as they are sidelined due to injury.
Midfield
The visiting side might lineup with the midfield three of Ilkay Gundogan, Rodri and Kevin De Bruyne as the talented trio looks to retain possession and create some decent goal-scoring chances for the Man City frontline. All three midfielders need to stay strong and put in a commanding display at the centre of the park.
David Silva might have to settle for a spot on the bench alongside Phil Foden, who has been starved of first-team minutes this season.
Attack
Guardiola might opt to go with his strongest front three of Raheem Sterling, Gabriel Jesus and Riyad Mahrez for this league clash at St. James Park. However, it won’t be easy for them to break down the Magpies defence as Steve Bruce will likely instruct his players to defend deep with numbers inside their own half.
Sergio Aguero sustained a serious injury against Chelsea last weekend so he won’t be available for this league encounter on Saturday.
