Manchester City will take on Newcastle United as they welcome them to the Etihad Stadium on Saturday looking to grab all three points from this home encounter. The Sky Blues will come into the match on the back of a splendid 3-0 victory over Bristol City in the fifth round of the FA Cup, so we can expect them to be confident in grabbing a win here.
Pep Guardiola is expected to revert back to a 4-3-3 formation and should make a host of changes to the match-day squad for this Premier League contest. Erling Haaland could make his way back into the starting XI to lead the charge against the opposition while Ederson Moraes replaces Stefan Ortega to operate in between the sticks.
4-3-3 Manchester City Predicted XI Vs Newcastle United
Defence
As mentioned earlier, Ederson Moraes will operate in between the sticks for Man City as he looks to earn a clean sheet. Ruben Dias will resume his centre-back partnership with Manuel Akanji at the back as they try to keep the away side from finding the back of the net throughout the game.
Nathan Ake could play in the right-back position while Kyle Walker earns a chance to impress on the other side as the left-back. Both of them will get the license to get forward and express themselves in the final third.
Midfield
Ilkay Gundogan, Rodri and Kevin De Bruyne will make up Guardiola’s midfield as they try to establish their superiority over the opposition at the centre of the park.
De Bruyne and Gundogan will have to carry most of the creative burden for Man City in the opponent’s half.
Kalvin Phillips and Bernardo Silva will have to be content with a spot on the bench and might come on to make an impact in the second half if Guardiola opts to call upon their services.
Attack
Phil Foden will keep his place as the left-sided wide player while Riyad Mahrez hopes to weave his magic from the right flank. Both of them will need to get in behind the Newcastle backline if they want to engineer enough chances for Man City to win this game.
Erling Haaland will lead the line for Guardiola’s side in the final third. The Norwegian striker will be picking up on his superb run of form to get his name on the scoresheet.
Julian Alvarez and Jack Grealish will be available for selection on the bench as they wait for an opportunity to influence the game in the latter stages of the match.
