Manchester City vs Newcastle United

Etihad Stadium is the venue as Manchester City and Newcastle United go head-to-head in a blockbuster Premier League fixture.

ErlingHaaland’s first-half brace in a 3-0 demolition of newly-promoted Burnley on the opening weekend fired Manchester City’s title defense off to a flying start. Keen to become the first side in Premier League history to win four successive titles, Pep Guardiola’s high-flyers come into proceedings having won their first-ever UEFA Super Cup, courtesy of a penalty shoot-out win over Sevilla in midweek European action. Having netted a monstrous 97 goals against Newcastle in England’s top-flight, the ‘Citizens’ are only three away from scoring a century of goals against a single opposition for the first time in the Premier League era. Considering they’ve won their last ten league outings at the Etihad and haven’t lost any of their 18 home meetings with Newcastle in the Premier League (W16, D2), that’s an attainable target.

However, Newcastle United could be among a handful of clubs capable of giving Man City a run for their money, with Eddie Howe’s side taking this trip in a buoyant mood following a scintillating 5-1 romping of Aston Villa on matchday one. An emphatic victory over Villa proved Newcastle’s fourth-place finish in 2022/23 was no fluke, boosting the team’s spirits ahead of their first Champions League adventure in over two decades. But despite boasting the division’s joint-best defensive record of only 33 goals conceded last season, the ‘Magpies’ couldn’t cope with Man City’s scoring prowess, capitulating multiple times in both top-flight H2Hs in 2022/23 (D1, L1). Seeking to end a 14-game losing Premier League run at Man City, Newcastle can draw confidence from losing just once on their last seven league travels (W4, D2).