Premier League 
Manchester City welcomes Newcastle to the Etihad this weekend with both clubs looking to grab all three points in order to get back into the top spot and the top four in the Premier League respectively.
Pep Guardiola’s side have had a season that is not quite up to the standards expected of Manchester City. Despite sitting just two points behind Arsenal, City have already lost more games in 25 matches this season than they lost in the entirety of last season, with four losses already.
In their last five Premier League games, Man City have won three, drawn one and suffered defeat once. Their loss came in a stadium where luck and wins have long eluded them, the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Despite a red card to Cristian Romero, Spurs were able to edge City out to a 1 - 0 win, keeping the unwanted record of City never winning away at Tottenham’s new stadium.
City bounced back with back-to-back 3 - 1 wins over both Aston Villa and importantly, their title rivals Arsenal. However, Guardiola’s team were immediately brought back down with a 1 - 1 draw away at Nottingham Forest, though the subsequent trip to Bournemouth saw City win 4 - 1. In the midst of all of this, City also suffered a 1 - 1 draw in the first leg of their Round of 16 tie against RB Leipzig.
Eddie Howe’s Newcastle have impressed this season, and despite their 2 - 0 loss in the Final of the Carabao Cup to Manchester United, their Premier League campaign is still going well. The Magpies currently sit fifth, with their league game against Brighton being postponed due to the final, allowing Spurs to overtake them after their win against Chelsea.
Despite their good run so far this Premier League season, this has somewhat plateaued recently, with just one win in their last five games. This 1 - 0 win came over Fulham in mid-January, and since this win Newcastle have failed to pick up another three points. The Magpies drew against Crystal Palace, West Ham and Bournemouth back-to-back-to-back in the league.
In the middle of all of this action, Newcastle beat Southampton 3 - 1 on aggregate to progress to the Carabao Cup Final, where both teams saw a red in their respective legs. Finally, Eddie Howe’s men lost 2 - 0 to Liverpool, where they crucially also lost goalkeeper Nick Pope for the Carabao Cup Final after he was given a straight red against The Reds.
There have been 187 meetings between Man City and Newcastle from 1893 to now. Man City have won 74, whereas Newcastle have won 72, with just 41 draws, making this a closer fixture than some would maybe expect. The most recent meeting between the two was back in August in the Premier League which was an entertaining display. After going 3 - 1 up at St James’ Park, Man City managed to claw it back to 3 - 3, with both teams delivering with impressive goals, most notably Kieran Trippier’s free-kick to make it 3 - 1.