Manchester City vs Newcastle United
England – Premier League
Date: Wednesday, 8 July 2020
Kick-off at 18:00 UK/ 19:00 CET
Venue: Etihad Stadium.
Match preview
While second place with the city remains a cushion of eight points over Leicester City, Pep Guardiola side have lost three of their last six matches in the Premier League.
Although each of these setbacks have come away from home, the Spaniard will naturally be concerned that his team are not living up to its high expectations on a regular basis.
Despite Liverpool having already been crowned champions, Guardiola will want rectified over the coming weeks, especially with the city looking to win the FA Cup and their first Champions League.
Guardiola may point to the busy schedule for their indifferent results, but a lack of a ruthless series in the last third was to blame for the defeat at Southampton on Sunday evening.
Gabriel Jesus did not take advantage of its possibilities instead of Sergio Aguero injured, with the Brazilian now have gone nine games without finding the back of the net.
With the game in midweek coming only 10 days after the city outclassed Newcastle in the FA Cup, Bruce hopes his players have learned from this humbling at St James Park.
Although the city dominated by a 2-0 score, the margin should have been much wider, and Bruce will inevitably consider another strategy for the visit to Manchester.
Nevertheless, recording 12 points in six games in the Premier League says his team are in good shape heading into one of their most difficult places in the country.
While the Magpies have 10 place in their sites, they are aware that a heavy defeat against the city could lead them down to 14th place.
Team News
Manchester City
Kevin De Bruyne was benched in the 1-0 defeat at Southampton on Sunday but returns to the first XI here.
Benjamin Mendy, Kyle Walker, Ilkay Gundogan and Phil Foden also hope to remind here.
Newcastle United
Sean Longstaff and Isaac Hayden are expected to miss two to three weeks with a hamstring injury.
Danny Rose should return at left back against Manchester City, with Javier Manquillo shift back to the rear right accordingly.
With neither Hayden nor Sean Longstaff available for the opposite side, Nabil Bentaleb or Matthew Longstaff start in midfield here.
Matt Ritchie also push to return to the starting lineup here, leaving Dwight Gayle and Joelinton to battle for a place in the front.
Manchester City vs Newcastle Prediction
Citizens have lost 1-0 on the road the last day of the match against Southampton. It was an unexpected loss for the former champions, and clearly the experiences of the gaffer in the range turned against him.
Meanwhile, Bruce's men were held to a 2-2 draw at home in the past week of play by West Ham.
As it stands, the men of Guardiola are easily the favorites. They were the best team in England with Liverpool for the past three years, and they just had humiliated the Reds with a 4-0 final score.
In addition, they have also scored the most number of goals to date, and they also make a great record H2H at this place over the years. In fact, they are on a winning streak to four matches against the Magpies and also won ten of the last eleven games such here.
Also note that they have lost once in this field since 2000. In light of these factors, you can expect a winning performance from Manchester City on Wednesday.
However, understand that their defense was not high level of this campaign, and because of their being safe at the top most of the table, they have a clear goal to fight for the moment, other that pride.
And on top of that, Bruce's men are desperate for a European ticket, and they were unbeaten in 15 of their previous 18 fixtures together. Given these statistics, expect goals from both teams.
Manchester City vs Newcastle: Betting Tips
Over 2.5 Match Goals & Both Teams to Score @ 2.60 (8/5)
Half Time/ Full Time: Manchester City/ Manchester City @ 1.50 (1/2).
