Manchester City vs Newcastle Prediction: Magpies can profit from fresher legs

Manchester City have had a rough couple of weeks. Their 3-2 home defeat to Real Madrid on Tuesday in the Uefa Champions League followed a 5-1 hammering at Arsenal in the Premier League on February 2. The Citizens are back in league action on Saturday (15:00) as they welcome Newcastle United to the Etihad Stadium.

The Magpies won a five-goal thriller at Birmingham City in the fourth round of the FA Cup last Saturday, but their previous top-flight appearance saw them fall to a 2-1 home defeat to Fulham on February 1. Read on for my Manchester City vs Newcastle predictions, as well as the latest match odds and team news.

Manchester City vs Newcastle Odds

Man City have won three of their past four home matches in the Premier League and they are 9/10 to come out on top on Saturday.

The other match was a draw with Everton on December 26, which was also the outcome when they played Newcastle at St James' Park back in September. The stalemate is on offer at 16/5.

The Magpies are 13/5 (which has an implied probability of 27.8%) to come away with the three points, which I think offers tremendous value because they have won four away games on the bounce in the top flight.

Newcastle forward Alexander Isak has netted seven goals across those games and he is 23/20 (46.5%) to strike anytime at the Etihad.

Football Odds

Team News

Rodri remains sidelined for Man City due to an ACL injury. Boss Pep Guardiola has two fresh concerns ahead of Saturday surrounding Jack Grealish and Manuel Akanji, with both players sustaining muscle problems against Real Madrid.

Should Akanji miss out, Guardiola might turn to Rico Lewis or Matheus Nunes to feature on the right side of the defence. Nicolas Gonzalez and Oscar Bobb will be closely monitored ahead of the weekend and might yet make the matchday squad.

Nathan Ake will be hoping to start after featuring for an hour against Los Blancos on Tuesday. John Stones played a hybrid midfield role in midweek and Guardiola may decide to keep the England international in that role. Ilkay Gundogan and Mateo Kovacic are the standout candidates to take the other midfield spot, but this  could also be the chosen pairing.

Jeremy Doku, Savinho, Phil Foden and Omar Marmoush will compete for the attacking positions behind front man Erling Haaland.

Newcastle are missing Jamaal Lascelles (ACL) and Harvey Barnes (muscle) for the trip to Manchester, while Sven Botman, Joelinton (both knee), Anthony Gordon (thigh) and Dan Burn (groin) are all doubts.

Nick Pope was in goal at Birmingham and a Premier League return may be on the cards ahead of Martin Dubravka. Isak, Jacob Murphy, Sandro Tonali, Lewis Hall and Fabian Schar are expected to be restored to the starting XI.

Newcastle to win @ 13/5

With many of their star players rested last weekend, Newcastle will head to M11 with plenty of fresh legs, while their opponents had a thorough workout on Tuesday. City have now lost two big games in recent weeks, while that was sandwiched by a scrappy victory over League 1 Leyton Orient in the FA Cup.

The Citizens are continuously blowing hot and cold and it seems that when they are mostly coming up against better teams, they are found wanting. Yes, they defeated Chelsea on January 25, but the Blues have also struggled for consistency themselves of late.

Man City's defence doesn't fill me with any confidence, either, and I think Newcastle's impressive attack can cause them some serious problems. Isak is arguably the best striker in the division, and he has the star quality that can shine through in a game like this.

The Magpies have surprisingly suffered back-to-back defeats at St James' Park in the top flight, but they have been in great form on their travels. Newcastle have won six away games in a row in all competitions, four of which have come in the Premier League.

They will have confidence from this winning streak heading to east Manchester and they know that City are not the same animal that they have been in recent years.

Alexander Isak anytime goalscorer @ 23/20

I've mentioned Isak a few times in this preview already, and as you can probably imagine I'm a big fan. The Sweden international has bagged 17 goals in the Premier League so far and is just two shy of Haaland's tally of 19.

Isak has been in excellent form on the road in recent weeks, netting seven in the Magpies' previous four victories away from home. He will be relishing the chance to face the defending champions, whose defence have looked disjointed for months.

Offers

Place an In-Play single bet of £10 or more at odds of 1/2+ on any Premier League or Championship game on Friday or Saturday and get £5 in Free Bets to use In-Play on Sunday’s games. (Credited upon Bet Settlement)

Acca Flex: Place a pre-match 5+ leg Football accumulator and get a CASH bonus up to 100% if all of your selections win or your money back as CASH if one leg lets you down

You can read all our latest Football Betting Tips at our dedicated Betfred Insights content hub.