English Premier
2019-01-29 - Newcastle United vs Manchester City
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: English Premier League
Tuesday 29th January 2019 - Kick Off 8pm
This game is live on TV
Newcastle United
There might have been a hope that Rafael Benitez would begin to take the FA Cup more seriously, but it was a very slim hope and I don't think the manager is overly concerned about Newcastle United exiting in the Fourth Round on Saturday. The focus has long been on keeping players fit for the Premier League as The Magpies are mired in yet another relegation scrap and the points are much more important than a Cup run to the manager.
A comprehensive win over Cardiff City ten days ago moved Newcastle United up to 17th in the Premier League table and 2 points clear of the bottom three, but plenty of work is yet to be done. That victory saw the team improve to 3-1-8 at St James' Park in the Premier League where they have scored 10 goals and conceded 17.
Newcastle United have won 1 of their last 9 games in normal time, but that was the big win over Cardiff City that has dragged them out of the bottom three. They have lost 4 of their last 7 games at home in all competitions including a 0-2 defeat to Watford on Saturday, while the win over Cardiff City did snap a run of 3 losses in 4 home Premier League games before that.
Paul Dummett, Jonjo Shelvey and Mohamed Diame are doubts for this one which could mean Rafael Benitez is picking from limited numbers again.
Manchester City
January has been a very productive month for Manchester City who have progressed to the League Cup Final and the FA Cup Fifth Round while also closing the gap to Liverpool at the top of the Premier League. Pep Guardiola will want to round off the month with another win on Tuesday as he has finally got his wish of playing before Liverpool for the next couple of Premier League fixtures as the Champions try to put pressure on their title rivals.
Pressure needs to be exerted by continuing to win games and this is a big one for 2nd placed Manchester City who can close to within 1 point of Liverpool who play on Wednesday evening at Anfield. The Citizens have a 7-2-2 away record in the Premier League where they have scored 22 goals and conceded 7.
Manchester City have won 8 in a row in all competitions since their back to back League losses to Crystal Palace and Leicester City and this is a team scoring plenty of goals at the moment. The majority of those 8 games have been played at the Etihad Stadium though, but Manchester City have won their last 3 away games in all competitions including back to back Premier League games at Southampton and Huddersfield Town where they have scored three goals each time.
Benjamin Mendy is still recovering from injury and could be involved in the squad. Vincent Kompany is expected to miss out, while the likes of Aymeric Laporte, David Silva, Sergio Aguero, Raheem Sterling and Leroy Sane are hoping to be restored to the starting line up.
Head to Head
Manchester City beat Newcastle United 2-1 at home earlier this season.
They have won on 7 of their last 8 visits to St James' Park including a 0-1 win here last season.
Prediction
There is a clear difference in squad depth between Newcastle United and Manchester City and the performances in the FA Cup Fourth Round on Saturday underlined that.
Both Rafael Benitez and Pep Guardiola will pick stronger teams for this Premier League fixture as both Newcastle United and Manchester City are desperate for the three points for differing reasons.
However let's not beat around the bush and state that Benitez would rip your arm off if you handed him a point right now. That was the case when these teams played last season at St James' Park as Newcastle United barely came out of their defensive shell and ended with a comfortable 0-1 defeat to Manchester City.
I don't think Benitez is going to change his opinions for this one and I expect Newcastle United to sit in with a lot of numbers and hope to steal something on the break. The main ambition will be to contain Manchester City though and make sure Newcastle United have something to steal in the final twenty minutes, but it is a big ask on the current form of the two teams.
Manchester City have been scoring goals for fun over the last month and while the majority of the biggest wins have come at home, they have scored at least three goals in back to back away Premier League wins. This Newcastle United team have conceded at least two goals to Arsenal, Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United at home this season and I fully expect Manchester City to have too much for their hosts and put the pressure on Liverpool.
My gut feeling is that Newcastle United are going to hope for something to break their way and they may well decide to accept a defeat as long as they are not hammered in this one. With a limited threat the other way, I think Manchester City will be able to win this one with a clean sheet to boot.
The Statistics :
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Pick :
Newcastle United 0-2 Manchester City
