Manchester City head to St. James Park this Sunday to take on Newcastle United in the Premier League, with the Blues in search of a third straight win to remain unbeaten in the young season.
Pep Guardiola’s side have been mightily impressive in their first two games of the campaign, dispatching West Ham United and Bournemouth 2-0 and 4-0 respectively.
In both outings, the Premier League champions controlled the tempo and smothered their opposition.
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As a result, City have only conceded two shots on target across the 180 minutes of Premier League action so far.
While some questions were raised about how summer signing Erling Haaland would fit into City’s system after Guardiola’s side played without a recognized striker for nearly two seasons, the Norwegian has already cemented himself as a key figure in the side, with two goals and an assist in the first two league outings.
Without getting his name amongst the goals against Bournemouth last weekend, the striker has received some criticism for his perceived lack of involvement in the match.
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However, Manchester City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne hit back at the criticism after his side's beating of the Cherries.
“It’s hard being that focal point in the system,” De Bruyne told The Independent. “We have 11 people behind the ball pretty much all the time so in these however many touches, he (Haaland) was dangerous.
“You don’t need a lot of touches to be dangerous. He helps the team in many aspects and he didn’t complain, he was still helping and giving assists so it’s fine.”
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With momentum on their side, City will travel to the north east to square off with a revitalised Newcastle United side, hoping to pick up all three points and remain top of the Premier League after three matchweeks.
The Magpies have also begun their campaign unbeaten, beating Nottingham Forest 2-0 on the opening weekend and drawing 0-0 with Brighton at the weekend.
Newcastle’s steady resurgence has been plain to see, coming off the back of an extremely wealthy Saudi-based ownership group taking over the club midway through the previous campaign.
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In the time since, the Tyneside club brought in former Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe along with a host of new signings.
Kieran Trippier, Callum Wilson, and Bruno Guimarães are just three of the quality signings the club have made in the past eight months and the new faces have seen Newcastle slowly work their way up the table.
After a late-season push saw the Magpies secure an 11th place finish last season, Eddie Howe’s side will be in the hunt for a top-half finish this time around.
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And while Newcastle are a new-look outfit thanks to new investment, Pep Guardiola’s men will be brimming with confidence ahead of the game, as City have won the last five Premier League meetings with Newcastle by a combined score of 20-3.
Topics: Manchester City, Premier League, Newcastle United, Pep Guardiola, Eddie Howe
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Adam Booker