Overview
Manchester City aims to continue to closely follow league leaders Arsenal when hosting Newcastle United at home.
Arsenal's gap could be narrowed to 2 points if Man City overcomes Newcastle, before the "Gunners" visit Tottenham's stadium. Therefore, coach Mikel Arteta will certainly look forward to Man City's slip-up at the Etihad, especially when witnessing their recent sublime form.
The 2-1 breathtaking victory at Liverpool's home ground at Anfield paved the way for a 3-0 showdown against Fulham in the most recent Premier League round, thanks to goals from Antoine Semenyo, Nico O'Reilly and Erling Haaland.
Norwegian star Haaland was substituted in the first half of the match against Fulham, before continuing to be absent in the 2-0 victory over Salford City in the 4th round of the FA Cup last weekend. In case Haaland does not return in time, Omar Marmoush could be a noteworthy replacement. The Egyptian striker has scored 5 goals in just 2 home matches against Newcastle in all competitions.
Last season, Marmoush scored a hat-trick in this same match in the 4-0 victory in February 2025, and then scored 2 more goals in the 3-1 victory in the second leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final this season. In the first leg, City also won 2-0 right at St James' Park.
Newcastle must also be wary of Phil Foden, who has contributed to 99 Premier League goals (68 goals, 31 assists) and may become Man City's sixth player to reach the 100 mark. If he reaches this milestone in the upcoming match, Foden will be the 18th youngest player in Premier League history to do so, at the age of 25 years and 269 days, and also the second youngest Man City player after Haaland (24 years and 237 days).
In the defense, Man City has improved significantly thanks to the solidity of Gianluigi Donnarumma. Since the dramatic 5-4 victory over Fulham in December, they have only conceded 8 goals in 12 Premier League matches - the best record since round 15 onwards.
Newcastle entered this match with a morale boost when Anthony Gordon scored a double to help them beat Qarabag 6-1 away in the first leg of the Champions League play-offs. However, "The Magpies" have a big problem when away from home against strong opponents. They have not won their last 10 away matches in the Premier League against teams in the upper half of the table (3 draws, 7 losses) since winning 3-1 against Nottingham Forest in November 2024.
Statistics also show that Newcastle has not won in 37 away matches against top 2 teams (5 draws, 32 losses), with the last time they won all 3 points being a 3-1 victory over Arsenal in December 2001. Conversely, Newcastle's last 9 away wins in the Premier League all came against teams in the lower half of the table.
At Etihad, Eddie Howe's task became even more difficult. Since the 2010-2011 season, English coaches have led 76 Premier League away matches here and only Roy Hodgson (Crystal Palace) won 3-2 in December 2018 (8 draws, 67 losses).
Head-to-head record
Man City has a dominant home record against Newcastle in the Premier League. They are unbeaten in 21 matches against Newcastle at the Etihad and won all 16 recent matches. In the history of the top league in England, only Everton has had a longer home win streak against the same opponent (22 consecutive matches against Fulham).
Pep Guardiola's team is also in very high defensive form when winning 6 recent home matches without conceding a goal.
Score prediction: Man City 1-0 Newcastle
The match between Man City and Newcastle takes place at 3:00 AM on February 22nd (Vietnam time).
