Manchester City welcome Newcastle to the Etihad Stadium on Saturday and there is a key reason the hosts are expected to secure a victory.
Manchester City are looking to extend their winning run in all competitions to five matches and Newcastle are the team standing in their way of making this possible.
The two sides have already met on three occasions this season, including a match which took place earlier in the month.
City got the better of their upcoming opponent in both legs of the Carabao Cup semi-final. However, Newcastle did take all three points when the teams faced off in the Premier League earlier this season.
Manchester City have a strong home record against Newcastle
There is no doubt that City will be the favourites on Saturday, considering their recent form in comparison with Newcastle.
As well as this, the Magpies are yet to record a victory at the Etihad Stadium since 2014 and that was in the League Cup.
Incredibly, Newcastle have not beaten Manchester City away from home in the Premier League since 2000. Alan Shearer scored the only goal that day and Alfie Haaland featured for the hosts during the Maine Road clash.
Man City will be fresher than Newcastle
Another advantage the Citizens hold is that they have not had any fixtures to fulfil since last Saturday and even then, it was against League 2 outfit Salford City.
Newcastle on the other hand played on Wednesday night in the Champions League, recording a 6-1 victory over Qarabag.
Eddie Howe’s team can be extremely proud of their midweek efforts, but this could mean they show signs of fatigue in two days’ time. It definitely seems like Man City are in a good place to take all three points from this one.
