Predicted Starting Line-Up: Newcastle United vs Manchester City (Premier League) | OneFootball

The Premier League campaign gets back underway this Saturday as Manchester City travel to St. James’ Park to take on Newcastle United.

The Blues will be keen to pick up where they left off after entering the November international break with a 3-0 win against fellow title contenders Liverpool. Goals from Erling Haaland, Nico Gonzalez and Jeremy Doku were enough to secure all three points and keep City within touching distance of league leaders Arsenal.

The Manchester City first-team squad continued their fine form for their respective nations, with an impressive England debut for Nico O’Reilly as Phil Foden put the ball on a plate for Eberechi Eze to add to his goal involvement tally this season.

Tijjani Reijnders, Omar Marmoush, and Josko Gvardiol were all amongst the goals once again, while Haaland and Doku both scored a brace to secure 2026 World Cup qualification for their countries.

Newcastle United will act as the next challenge for City to overcome. The Toon Army are in patchy form so far this season but have still proved to be extremely tricky customers for several big sides across England and Europe under Eddie Howe.

Last time out, Manchester City walked away as victors in an emphatic 4-0 win, a first-half hat-trick from Marmoush setting the tone on that occasion.

Pep Guardiola is once again spoilt for choice this week as the injury list remains remarkably short; only Mateo Kovacic and Rodri are ruled out of this one,with the Croatian midfielder sidelined for the future as he recovers from his recent heel surgery.

Here is how we predict Manchester City will line up on Saturday!

Predicted XI

Gianluigi Donnarumma starting is all but guaranteed. The Italian continues to impress on a weekly basis. The continuation of his remarkable form could be the key to keeping Nick Woltemade quiet on Saturday.

Abdukodir Khusanov and Rico Lewis will have to make the most of every opportunity if they are to displace Matheus Nunes as the starting right-back. The Portuguese international has made himself borderline undroppable in recent fixtures. The 27-year-old has been winning over even his harshest critics with an array of brilliant performances since September.

The defensive efforts of Ruben Dias and Josko Gvardiol have been absolutely crucial to Manchester City’s revived form after their horror start to the campaign. With City chasing down Arsenal and both players remaining fit through the international break, there seems to be no reason to break up the formidable pairing.

Nico O’Reilly will likely continue to lock down the left-back spot against Newcastle. The 20-year-old has gone from strength to strength this season; his performance against Liverpool before the international break was up there with his very best.

Holding midfielder Nico Gonzalez has more than justified his signing in January as he continues to improve with every match. Guardiola ruled out Rodri featuring against the Magpies but the Ballon d’Or winning star is at least expected to travel with the Manchester City group.

Bernardo Silva’s experience and tenacity could make all the difference against a midfield boasting Bruno Guimaraes and Sandro Tonali . In the 3-0 victory against Liverpool, the Manchester City captain paired up with Phil Foden and will likely do so once more on Saturday.

Savinho has yet to fully find his feet this season but his performances against Liverpool and Borussia Dortmund in the week prior to the international break should provide fans with a lot of optimism.

Having missed out on international selection for the November break, the 21-year-old is fully rested and in need of minutes. With the excellent form of Rayan Cherki and Oscar Bobb needing game time, the right-wing spot is perhaps the hardest to predict.

Erling Haaland’s brace against Gianluigi Donnarumma’s Italy secured Norway their first World Cup qualification since 1998. His incredible goalscoring form has been as crucial to Manchester City as it is to his nation. The Golden Boot race leader is sure to start on Saturday and will surely be hoping to add to his season total of 38 goals.

A man in the form of his life, Jeremy Doku should start once again on the left. The Belgian star comes into this one with 14 goal involvements so far this season across all competitions. His incredible performance against Liverpool alone should be enough to lock down a starting spot for him this weekend.

Predicted Starting XI

Starting XI: Donnarumma; Nunes, Dias, Gvardiol, O’Reilly; Nico, Bernardo, Foden; Savinho, Haaland, Doku

Substitutes: Trafford, Ait-Nouri, Stones, Khusanov, Lewis, Reijnders, Cherki, Bobb, Marmoush