The Premier League title race is now a two-horse race between Liverpool and Manchester City. The first to play this week will be Manchester City and they face a trip to St James’ Park on Tuesday night to play Newcastle United.
Newcastle United are in a relegation battle this season and find themselves just 2 points clear of the relegation zone. A win in this game would not only be a huge boost for the remainder of the campaign but could see them move up as high as 14th place.
Manchester City are second in the Premier League and could move to within 1 point of the leaders with a win.
Newcastle United were eliminated from the FA Cup on the weekend as they went down 2-0 at home to Watford. Much was made of the Watford starting XI as their manger made wholesale changes but they will still too strong for Newcastle United, which is a worrying sign for the home team.
The Magpies have won two of their last nine games in all competitions and one of the wins was in the FA Cup against Blackburn Rovers in extra-time. Trends show Newcastle United have won one of their last six and two of their last ten games in the Premier League and that form is not good enough to lift them up the table.
Home form shows one win in their last five in the Premier League and Newcastle United have conceded 2 or more goals in four of their last six games in all competitions.
Manchester City cruised through to the fifth round of the FA Cup thanks to a 5-0 win over Burnley on Saturday. It took them a little while to get going but once they did Burnley could not cope with their attacking play.
That result means Manchester City have won each of their last eight games in all competitions. The Citizens have responded well to the two defeats they suffered over Christmas and have scored a total of 33 goals across those eight games at an average of 4.125 goals per game.
Manchester City have also been very good defensively and have kept a clean sheet in each of their last six matches in all competitions.
Team news and Newcastle United have Jonjo Shelvey back in training and he could come into contention for this match. Mohamed Diame could also return from a hip injury but Sung-Yueng Ki has a hamstring injury and Yoshinori Muto is on international duty.
Manchester City have doubts over Vincent Kompany and Benjamin Mendy. The latter recently made a return to action but is unlikely to be risked in this match.
It is difficult to find any reason why Newcastle United will take something from this match. Their own form is not good and Manchester City are flying. It may not be as comprehensive a win as recent games but expect to see the visitors take maximum points.