Man City vs Newcastle: Citizens look to mount pressure on Arsenal in EPL title race

by Devesh Jaganath

image Man City vs Newcastle: Citizens look to mount pressure on Arsenal in EPL title race
Matchday 27 in the Premier League is on deck, and the title race could be blown wide open when Manchester City take on Newcastle United at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday night. The Citizens are five points behind league leaders with a game in hand on Arsenal, who face Spurs in a North London derby on Sunday.

Premier League title race to tilt at the Etihad on MD27?

The 2025-26 Premier League season has been nothing short of incredible so far, and this weekend could prove pivotal in the race for the title, as Pep Guardiola’s side look to cut the gap to the league leaders to two points. Check out our Man City vs Newcastle prediction. 

For almost seven months, Arsenal have held the top spot and were the out-and-out favourites to lift the title and bring an end to their over two-decade wait to be crowned champions. However, in recent weeks, Gooners have started to get that familiar feeling that they may be facing another “bottle job.”

In the last month, Mikel Arteta’s side have only managed to take eight points from their last five league matches (W2 D2 L1), while Man City have quietly kicked into gear, only dropping points to Spurs (2-2) in their last four top-flight outings. 

While Arteta will be hoping for a slip-up from the Citizens this weekend, history is certainly against the Gunners’ boss, with City having avoided defeat in their last 21 EPL home matches against the Mapies, while winning each of the last 16 ahead of this one. 

Additionally, Guardiola’s side have won their last six home games against Newcastle without conceding a single goal, while rattling in 19 goals themselves in that period, including two 5-0 drubbings!

However, the visitors will have confidence coming into this fixture, having smashed six goals past Qarabag in the Champions League in midweek. They also beat City in the reverse fixture at St. James’ Park and could do the double over the Sky Blues for the first time since 1983-84. 

The biggest issues for the Geordies, though, are the short turnaround from their trip to Baku in the UCL, and their recent record in the EPL, where they have only won one of their last five matches (D2 L2), dating back to January 7 against Leeds United at home. 

 

Key Players to watch: Anthony Gordon vs Omar Marmoush

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Manchester City’s talisman Erling Haaland was withdrawn due to a muscle issue at the interval against Fulham on MD26 and was given the night off against Salford City in the fourth round of the FA Cup last weekend, which they won 2-0. 

In his pre-match press conference, Guardiola simply nodded when asked if the Norwegian is “fully fit” for this weekend’s clash. He also added that Savinho could make the matchday squad but confirmed that Jeremy Doku is “not ready” to feature just yet. 

Should Haaland not be at the peak of his powers, Omar Marmoush will be licking his lips at the prospect of inflicting further damage on the Magpies, having already scored five times in two starts against them, including a stunning hat-trick in this very fixture last season. 

For Newcastle - Yoanne Wissa’s start to life on Tyneside has been extremely disappointing, as the DR Congo international spent a large chunk of the season on the sidelines through injury. He made a few promising appearances either side of the New Year, but is once again ruled out for a couple of weeks after picking up a knock in training. 

However, Howe seems to have found a new attacking combination, with Nick Woltemade operating in the number 10 role behind Anthony Gordon, who will come into this match off the back of a record-breaking performance against Qarabag in the Champions League. 

Gordon led the Magpies to a resounding 6-1 victory in Baku by scoring four goals in the first half, becoming only the second player to achieve that feat in UCL history. He netted his hat-trick in 33 minutes - the fastest by an English player ever in Europe’s top-tier club competition.