Manchester City will face off against Newcastle United at St. James’ Park on Sunday evening hoping to bounce back from their 2-1 defeat away at Chelsea in midweek. The Citizens are wounded at the moment and will be desperate to get back to winning ways on the road in the FA Cup quarter-finals. However, it could prove to be a difficult battle against the Magpies as they are in a four-match unbeaten run in the Premier League.
Pep Guardiola will opt for a 4-2-3-1 formation and might make a couple of changes to his side for this contest away at Tyneside.
4-2-3-1 Manchester City Predicted Lineup To Face Newcastle United
Defence
Ederson will keep his spot in goal for Man City despite producing a lacklustre performance versus Chelsea in midweek. Fernandinho is suspended for this match, so Nicolas Otamendi will get the nod to operate alongside Aymeric Laporte at the heart of Guardiola’s defence.
Kyle Walker was the standout performer for the Citizens at Stamford Bridge on Thursday. He will hope for a different outcome for his team this time around when he laces up to feature as the right-back. Oleksandr Zinchenko might get a start in the left-back position following Benjamin Mendy’s nightmare display in the defeat versus Frank Lampard’s men.
Eric Garcia, John Stones and Joao Cancelo are all significant doubts for this game which could force Guardiola to name a few youngsters on the bench.
Midfield
Ilkay Gundogan and Rodri will anchor the midfield as they look to establish Man City’s dominance at the centre of the park. Both players were average in midweek, so this weekend’s clash will be a good chance for them to shine as the holding midfielders.
The talented trio of Raheem Sterling, Kevin De Bruyne and Riyad Mahrez will hope to link up with each other while operating just ahead of them as part of Guardiola’s attack. All three playmakers will focus on cooking up some decent opportunities to score in the final third.
David Silva, Tommy Doyle and Leroy Sane will be available for selection on the bench but might get a chance to influence the game if Guardiola calls upon their services.
Attack
Gabriel Jesus could spearhead the Man City attack up top. He was named on the bench versus Chelsea but could come back into Guardiola’s first-team for this upcoming trip to St. James’ Park.
