The odds are stacked against Newcastle United as they prepare to face Manchester City in the Premier League this weekend.
Eddie Howe is taking on Pep Guardiola at St James’ Park, and being on home turf would normally give Newcastle United an almighty advantage.
However, the Magpies suddenly feel less imperious at home, as demonstrated by the Boxing Day defeat to Nottingham Forest.
This will be our first game at St James’ Park since then, and it is against last season’s treble winners who have Kevin De Bruyne back from injury.
It is going to be an extremely difficult game, and one that Chris Sutton believes Newcastle will lose.
That is a sentiment shared by former Arsenal goalkeeper David Seaman, who has provided his prediction for Saturday evening’s match.
David Seaman thinks Man City will beat Newcastle on Saturday
On the latest episode of the Seaman Says podcast, Seaman offered his score prediction for this weekend’s match between Newcastle United and Manchester City.
He said: “I can’t see Man City losing this game, so I’ll go 3-1 City.“
Newcastle haven’t beat Man City in the league since 2019
Like the majority of pundits, Seaman expects Manchester City to leave Tyneside with all three points. That would move them to within two points of leaders Liverpool.
Man City are the obvious favourites against Newcastle, as they are usually dominant in this fixture. The last time Newcastle beat Man City in the Premier League was January 2019. That was a 2-1 win for Rafa Benitez’s side.
But Newcastle’s previous two home games against Man City have brought about positive results. Last season’s 3-3 draw was a thrilling encounter, while the Magpies actually beat them earlier this season in the Carabao Cup. Howe’s side won 1-0 that night, with Alexander Isak scoring the only goal of the game and Tino Livramento producing an incredible performance on his first ever start for the club.
That was a special night inside St James’ Park, and we will need similar scenes this weekend.
Receive a digest of our best Newcastle content each week direct to your mailbox
