Manchester City could very much use a victory over Newcastle and there is certainly one aspect increasing the likelihood of this happening.
It has been a quiet week for Manchester City as the team prepare for a first Premier League fixture in a week and a half.
Last time out proved to be straightforward as they recorded a decisive 3-0 victory over Fulham, with each goal being scored within the opening 40 minutes of the game.
Newcastle are expected to provide a tougher test, but confidence will be high in the City camp ahead of what should be a thrilling contest.
Manchester City have had more rest than Newcastle
Eddie Howe’s men had to travel some distance in the week as they took on Qarabag in the Champions League.
However, Man City have not played since their FA Cup fourth round tie against Salford last weekend and Pep Guardiola believes this could hand his team an advantage.
Addressing the media ahead of City’s trip to Newcastle, he said: “The important [thing] is that players are revitalised after a lot of months with few days off.
“I don’t have to run one metre so for me it’s not a problem. It’s the players and [for] the players it’s really good to have long weeks to rest and they trained good the last two days.”
Man City are not the only team with a favourable schedule
Tottenham Hotspur are another club who have recently enjoyed a lengthy break. In fact, theirs has been even longer than City’s, with the North London team’s players handed a five-day break ahead of Igor Tudor’s appointment as interim manager.
This is good news for Man City, because Spurs are taking on Arsenal this weekend, a team who dropped points against Wolves on Wednesday.
If both City and Tottenham can make use of their multiple days to prepare for their respective fixtures, the Premier League table could look very promising by the conclusion of the weekend.
