Manchester City vs Newcastle United

BPL 2018-19 – Manchester City vs Newcastle United Match Preview

Well, given the way these teams are going on about their business this is basically a David vs Goliath match. Man City have been stunned last week after drawing 1-1 with Wolves, but otherwise have been in fantastic form with already having scored 9 goals in 3 games winning 2 of those so that one blip shouldn’t really mean anything, City got a little unlucky with the ref decisions too plus it was a tough away day. Newcastle meanwhile have been quite an embarrassment, one point from 9, was embarrassing to watch them play last week when they allowed Chelsea 81% of the possession and they really didn’t deserve to score and well during the midweek they lost 3-1 to Forest after equalising in the 92nd minute. Says it all really about Newcastle, the club is in a turmoil and going to Etihad is not something they need right now.

Interesting Facts

Newcastle have lost 9 straight matches at the Etihad to City conceding 32 goals and only scoring just 6.

In the past 5 Premier League meetings at the Etihad, Man City have won four of those by 4 goals! The results being 4-0 4-0 5-0 6-1 and 3-1. That’s 22 goals scored against the same opposition in just the 5 meetings at home. It’s a dark place to go to for Newcastle for sure.

Newcastle have failed to win an away league game at Manchester City since 2000. That is eighteen years!

Man City had an incredible home record last season with 16W 2D 1L and also scoring an enormous 61 goals in 19 games! This season they already scored 6 in their only home game. Absolute fortress.

Out of the 61 goals at home last season, 21 of those came in the first half while the other 40 came in the second half. Man City are clearly the better 2nd half team.

Sergio Aguero has scored 14 goals against Newcastle, that’s more than any other club.

Last season, Newcastle failed to pick up any away points against the big 6, losing 3-1 to City, 2-0 to Liverpool, 1-0 to Spurs, 3-1 to Chelsea, 1-0 to Arsenal and 4-1 to Man United.

Team News

Manchester City

Well for City, of course Kevin de Bruyne is still out with a long term injury, but given City’s depth in midfield with Gundogan, Bernardo and David Silva and Fernandinho this has proven not to be such a huge absentee as some may have thought. City’s depth is just incredible when you really think about it. Bravo, Danilo, Mangala are all out too. So really there nothing new to report from the Man City camp regarding injuries.

Pep has been rotating his side non stop for the first three games so predicting the line-up is pretty much impossible. We saw Pep use a very attacking minded side against Huddersfield with Bernardo at RWB so we’re thinking that something similar may occur here after the way Newcastle set up at Chelsea and will probably set up here. Expect Pep to go all out attack in this match up.

Newcastle

As for Newcastle, Jonjo Shelvey is still expected to be out after missing the clash against Chelsea last week which is a huge loss since Shelvey is their most creative player. Jamaal Lascelles is expected to be back however which is key for Newcaslte as he’s their captain and their best defender so given the amount of defending that Newcastle are expected to do, its crucial to have Lascelles back if he is indeed back.  Matt Ritchie had picked up a knock during the week, but is expect to be back and also Kenedy should be back after missing the Chelsea clash since he belongs to them. Last week Benitez played a 4-5-1 against Chelsea at home and well with Shelvey out and a lack of creativity in the side again this week, we can expect Benitez to set up exactly the same and go for a point. It’s really a tough time for Newcastle right now.

Betting Tips and Predictions

All of these odds will be based on TonyBet (odds are subject to change). Man City are clearly dominating Newcastle in recent years, especially at home. Nine wins in a row, 4 of the past 5 meetings ending in 4+ goal wins. Newcastle are now in a turmoil while City are enjoying another strong start to the season albeit they drew with Wolves. Expect City to be gunning for as many goals as possible as Pep requires perfection and after last week’s result we expect City to be slightly mad and decide to take it all out on Newcastle. Given the recent history between the clubs and the current state of both clubs, we’re going to take a risk and go for a Man City -2.5 AH at 1.95 and Man City -3.5 AH at 3.20. Another pick we’re going to make is Man City to win both halves at 1.90. Newcastle simply don’t have much of a chance here, they look tragic and its very unlikely that they will at any point catch City’s back line off guard. Meanwhile, City’s attack will prove to be way too much for Newcastle. Our prediction is a comfortable 5-0 Manchester City win.

Match Odds (TonyBet)

Manchester City Win – 1.12

Draw – 10.00

Newcastle Win – 28.00

KICK OFF – 1st September 2018 – 5:30pm UK Time