Eddie Howe faces City demons as Newcastle host Sky Blues.
Newcastle United vs. Manchester City kicks off at 17:30 [GMT] on Saturday, November 22, at St James' Park.
Newcastle United welcome Manchester City to St James’ Park in a fixture that, historically, has been brutally one-sided. Newcastle have managed just one win in their last 35 Premier League meetings with City, a run stretching back over a decade and dominated by City’s consistency, firepower, and tactical superiority. That solitary victory – a 2-1 success under Rafael Benítez in January 2019 – feels like an anomaly in a rivalry usually controlled by the Sky Blues. Newcastle come into this match under pressure after back-to-back league defeats [WLWLL]. Although they opened the scoring in both losses, defensive frailties got the better of them. They’ve now lost three Premier League games this season after scoring first—a worrying trend considering they had only suffered three such defeats in the previous two campaigns combined. Eddie Howe, meanwhile, has an unenviable personal record against Manchester City: 18 meetings, zero wins. No manager in Premier League history has faced an opponent this many times without beating them. The 47-year-old manager will be hoping to break that personal duck when he puts together the familiar 4—3—3 formation the home fans are accustomed to seeing. Harvey Barnes, Nick Woltemade and Jacob Murphy could team up in attack once again.
Manchester City’s record on Tyneside strengthens their confidence further. Their 12 Premier League away wins at St James’ Park are the joint-most they’ve recorded against any opponent in the competition. Not only do City win these matches—they score freely in them. Pep Guardiola’s side have found the net in each of their last 33 Premier League games against Newcastle. Only Chelsea, Tottenham and Everton have ever produced longer scoring streaks against a single opponent in English top-flight history. City [WWLWW], in second place, with 22 points, will be hoping to close the gap on league leaders Arsenal, who are four points ahead. Once again they would be counting on Erling Haaland’s relentless output. The Norwegian, who scored twice in Norway’s 4-1 win over Italy during the international break, leads the league with 14 goals, almost double the next best scorer. He is on the verge of reaching 100 Premier League goals and doing so in record time. Another goal here would also bring him to 20 for the season across all competitions, something he has achieved earlier than almost any Premier League player before him. A 4—1—4—1 formation with Haaland in attack is expected here.