Manchester City will be looking to extend their unbeaten streak to ten games in all competitions when they welcome Newcastle United to the Etihad Stadium on Boxing Day.
A five-match unbeaten run in the Premier League has seen Man City move up to eighth in the table – eight points shy of league leaders Liverpool.
Meanwhile, Newcastle are down in twelfth place on 18 points – five points behind Pep Guardiola’s side.
Following a narrow 1-0 victory over Southampton last weekend, Man City thrashed Arsenal in the EFL Cup quarter-finals in midweek.
Goals from Gabirel Jesus, Riyad Mahrez, Phil Foden, and Aymeric Laporte saw the Cityzens claim a comfortable 4-1 victory at the Emirates Stadium.
Guardiola’s men have only lost three of their last 26 home games in all competitions, so you can’t help but fear the worst for Newcastle.
It is also worth noting that Man City have won exactly half of their previous 80 matches by scoring over 1.5 goals.
At the other end of the pitch, City’s sturdy backline has enabled them to achieved the best defensive record in the division this season.
On the other hand, Newcastle were knocked out of the Carabao Cup by Championship side Brentford on Tuesday.
Despite enjoying the lion’s share of possession and racking up 12 shots, the Magpies were unable to prevent a 1-0 defeat.
Following back-to-back league victories, Newcastle have only managed to pick up one point from their previous two outings.
Steve Bruce’s men were hammered 5-2 by Leeds United last week, before being held to a 1-1 draw by Fulham on Saturday.
Fulham even had a man sent off with 30 minutes remaining, yet Newcastle failed to find the winning goal.
Head-to-head: The last time these two sides met, Manchester City claimed a massive 5-0 win over Newcastle back in July.
Guardiola’s side have only lost one of their previous ten meetings with Newcastle, scoring over 4.5 goals on three occasions in that time.
Team news: Eric Garcia is currently the only player sidelined for Man City at the moment. Sergio Aguero is in line to start on Saturday after making a substitute appearance in midweek.
Allan Saint-Maximin and Jamaal Lascelles are still ruled out with coronavirus, while Martin Dubravka, Javi Manquillo and Fabian Schar are all injured for Newcastle.
Not only are Man City in unstoppable form at the moment, but their record against Newcastle is difficult to ignore.
⚽#NUFC are back on the road on Boxing Day as they face #MCFC.We've looked back to the win at the Etihad back in 2014. 👇@TyneChem pic.twitter.com/wrhHTwToj5— Newcastle United StatZone (@nufcsz) December 23, 2020
⚽#NUFC are back on the road on Boxing Day as they face #MCFC.We've looked back to the win at the Etihad back in 2014. 👇@TyneChem pic.twitter.com/wrhHTwToj5
Forebet predicts that Man City will record a high-scoring victory over Newcastle on Saturday, netting over 2.5 goals in the process.