Newcastle vs Man City LIVE: Haaland misses out and De Bruyne on bench as Miley replaces Joelinton for hosts

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Manchester City will be aiming to close the gap to Liverpool in the Premier League title race when they travel to take on Newcastle this weekend.

Pep Guardiola’s side have won their last two games after a blip that saw them fall off the pace towards the end of last year.

Man City are third in the Premier League heading into this oneCredit: Getty

City are now five points off the top of the table but they have a game in hand to their advantage, with a win here putting the pressure back on their rivals.

They face Eddie Howe’s men who have lost five of their last six and their last three in a row with injuries decimating the Magpies squad.

Newcastle vs Man City: Leaky away from home

Man City have experienced more inconsistency than usual in the Premier League this season and it has stemmed from conceding goals.

The Citizens have conceded the first goal in six of their last eight away games, going on to lose three of those.

And that has seen them fall off the pace set by Liverpool at the top of the table.

They have let a goal in first in their last two matches on the road but they have managed to turn the game around in both.

That resilience has seen them pick up crucial results and they will be aiming to do so again this time out should they concede early.

If they manage to come from behind again, City would become only the third team to do so in three straight away fixtures, joining Leeds and Tottenham in the record books.

City have a habit of conceding first away from homeCredit: Getty In their Premier League history, Manchester City have won more games (30), scored more goals (98) and kept more clean sheets (22) against Newcastle than they have against any other opponent. Newcastle have won just one of their last 32 Premier League games against Manchester City (D5 L26), beating them 2-1 at St James’ Park in January 2019.

Newcastle vs Man City: Teams

Newcastle: Dubravka, Trippier, Schar, Botman, Burn, Guimaraes, Longstaff, Miley, Almiron, Gordon, Isak

Subs: Karius, Gillespie, Dummett, Lascelles, Ritchie, Krafth, Hall, A Murphy, Parkinson

Man City: Ederson, Walker, Dias, Ake, Gvardiol, Rodrigo, Kovacic, Bernardo, Foden, Doku, Alvarez

Subs: Ortega Moreno, Phillips, Grealish, De Bruyne, Gomez, Nunes, Bobb, Susoho, Lewis

Howe continues to struggle with injuries in his squadCredit: Getty Newcastle beat Manchester City 1-0 at St. James’ Park in the EFL Cup earlier this season – they’ve not beaten the Citizens twice in the same campaign since 1983-84. Manchester City have scored in each of their last 30 Premier League games against Newcastle, the longest scoring streak one side has had against another in the competition’s history. The last side to score in more consecutive top-flight games against an opponent was Chelsea against Newcastle (37 between 1933 and 1969).

Newcastle vs Manchester City: What has been said?

De Bruyne made his comeback against Huddersfield and his return will now provide a huge boost for City in their Premier League title challenge.

Even the City squad know how important it is to have their main creator back fit.

Phil Foden told the club’s website: “Everyone was buzzing to have him back.

“If we’re going to win anything, we need him at it. He’s one of the best players in the world, no one can do what he does.

“You could see the stadium roaring when he came on and it just shows how big and important he is for us. To have him back on the field, it gives us a lift as well.

“I am delighted for him to come back and hopefully he remains injury free because we need him.”

De Bruyne is back for Man CityCredit: Getty Phil Foden has had a hand in seven goals in his last 10 Premier League appearances (4 goals, 3 assists) for Manchester City. Since Christmas, Foden has created the most chances in open play in the Premier League of any player (9). Newcastle have lost six of their last nine Premier League matches (W3), only one fewer than in their previous 44 games combined (W24 D13 L7). The Magpies are looking to avoid losing four consecutive league games for the first time since a run of five in January 2021.