Manchester City vs Newcastle prediction: ENGLAND: Premier League betting tips on match 2023-08-18 19:00.
As if there was any doubting that Manchester City rank as Europe’s best after their UEFA Champions League triumph last season, a Super Cup victory against Sevilla on penalties in midweek cemented that status. Leaving the Athens ruins behind, City return to Manchester where Newcastle lie in wait for what is their home league opener after a 3-0 win away to Burnley kickstarted their Premier League (PL) campaign last week.
There was an unerring sense of inevitability about City’s win last weekend, but the visit of Newcastle promises to be a much sterner test, one the Citizens will hope they have the answers to given they’re on a ten-match winning streak in home PL action. Stretching that run with another convincing victory could bring up another record for Pep Guardiola’s side too, as they currently sit on 97 PL goals against Newcastle, and making it 100 would be their first century of goals against any PL team.
After a five-goal haul on opening day saw them end matchday one top of the PL pile, Newcastle ought not to be overly fazed about making the trip to Manchester this time around. That is perhaps until they check the history books and see that they’ve never won a PL game at the Etihad Stadium (D2, L16), which has earned them the unwanted record of the most games any team has played at a specific venue without winning a PL match!
Four wins from their last seven away league games (D2, L1) certainly suggests the Magpies are capable of breaking that spell, but given none of those matches saw Newcastle keep a clean sheet, they seemingly face the unenviable task of out-scoring City. You’d have to go back to February 1996 for the last time Newcastle scored more than once in an away league H2H though, leaving them with a tough task to open their campaign with back-to-back wins.
Players to watch: Rodri was on target in City’s opening day win and he appears to be a lucky charm for them, with his last 17 club goals arriving in winning causes. It was a dream PL debut for Sandro Tonali as he netted inside ten minutes. Four of his last five scoring appearances saw him bag the decisive goal in victory.
Hot stat: Manchester City have scored exactly two first half goals in four of the last five PL H2Hs.