Chris Sutton has shared his prediction for Manchester City’s upcoming Premier League clash against Newcastle United.
Last weekend saw both sides make it through to the fourth round of the FA Cup as City beat Huddersfield Town 5-0 at the Etihad Stadium, whereas Newcastle picked up a 3-0 victory against their rivals Sunderland.
With Premier League action now set to be resumed this weekend, the Citizens will travel to St. James’ Park to try and take a step closer to potentially regaining the title.
Looking ahead to this game, one pundit has shared his thoughts on how it will go and what the overall outcome will be.
Sutton backs City for Newcastle victory
Writing in his latest column for BBC Sport where he predicted this weekend’s Premier League fixtures, Sutton had this to say about City’s clash against Newcastle before backing the away side to walk away with a 3-1 scoreline.
He said: “I’ve got a bit of confidence with calling this one, compared to the first two games this week. Unfortunately for Newcastle, I think this is a bad time to be playing Manchester City. Pep Guardiola’s side did all right in the first half of the season, but did not really get going by their standards.
“Now they have got Kevin De Bruyne back – with a new hairstyle too – and I just wonder if we will see a different look about City for the rest of the season.
“Newcastle have lost three in a row in the league but I think the most important game for them recently was their FA Cup win over Sunderland last week – there would have been a bit of heat on their manager Eddie Howe if they had lost to a Championship team and their local rivals. We know how the Magpies play, and they will go for it, so I am expecting a few goals, I just think City will score most of them.”
With 20 league games played, the Magpies have had a mixed bag of results, with nine wins, two draws and nine defeats, scoring 39 goals and conceding 29 along the way.
Bearing in mind how City have scored more goals (45) and conceded fewer (21) than their next opponents, it’s easy to see why Sutton thinks Pep Guardiola’s side will find a victory this time out.
Having failed to win at St. James’ Park in the league last season as well as getting dumped out of the Carabao Cup there earlier in this campaign, we feel that, despite Sutton’s prediction, this will be a tough game for City and that they will need to be at their best to pick up all three points.
