Terrifying Manchester City vs Newcastle stat proves Eddie Howe has colossal task on Saturday

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Newcastle United head into Saturday afternoon’s Premier League match against Manchester City as underdogs.

Pep Guardiola’s side sit at the top of the Premier League table after enjoying an unbeaten start to the 2024/25 season.

Newcastle are only three points behind the reigning champions in sixth place after their unbeaten start to the season came to an abrupt end with an “awful” 3-1 defeat to Fulham last week.

Position	Team	PlayedMP	WonW	DrawnD	LostL	ForGF	AgainstGA	DiffGD	PointsPts
5	ChelseaChelsea	5	3	1	1	11	5	6	10
6	NewcastleNewcastle	5	3	1	1	7	6	1	10
7	BrightonBrighton	5	2	3	0	8	4	4	9

City will have a weakened squad for their trip to Tyneside with Rodri out injured after a serious knee injury and Kevin de Bruyne also unavailable.

It gives Eddie Howe a chance to unleash a star trio against what will be a weakened City midfield, but the visitors will be strong favourites regardless and stats show why.

Man City love playing against Newcastle United

Not many teams have a good-looking record against Manchester City, but Newcastle certainly have one of the worst.

The Magpies did get the better of City with a 1-0 win in the Carabao Cup last season, but it was against a heavily rotated City side.

That is Newcastle’s only win over City in the club’s last 13 meetings across all competitions. In just the Premier League, Newcastle have only won one of their last 33 league matches against City – a 2-1 win under Rafa Benitez in 2019.

Opta Analyst report that City have won more games (31) and scored more goals (101) against Newcastle United than they have against any other Premier League opponent.

City are in incredible form and have put together a 28-game unbeaten run in the Premier League which spans back to 2023. It would take a colossal effort for Newcastle to end that run on Saturday afternoon.

Newcastle United must look beyond Man City game

There is pressure mounting on Newcastle and Eddie Howe to improve performances this season after failing to put on a dominant display in any of their games so far.

But against City is not the time to judge Newcastle or Howe. Picking up any points on the weekend would be a huge result and something to celebrate.

Once the City clash has passed, then Newcastle and Howe must get to work on improving performances.

READ MORE: Eddie Howe’s future and Newcastle United’s season could be defined by next three home games

Results have been good this season but Newcastle’s poor performances finally caught up to them in the defeat against Fulham. Another performance like that against City could end in a disastrous scoreline.

After City, Newcastle have matches against Wimbledon, Everton and Brighton – that is where Howe must show that performances have improved.