“Can Newcastle end Man City’s unbeaten run?” – Robert Marawa

Premier League Pick of the week: Newcastle United v Manchester City
Kick-off: Saturday, 28 September, 13:30
Venue: St James Park
Live on Showmax Premier League

My match of the weekend is Newcastle up against Manchester City. One simple reason I chose this game is because of Newcastle’s unexpected defeat against Fulham last weekend. The pressure will be on them to bounce back so it will be interesting to see how they deal with City at home. Newcastle’s 3-1 defeat to Fulham last weekend speaks volumes about why some of us were a bit shaken by the result.

No Premier League team this season has been able to beat Manchester City. Can Newcastle be that team to upset the apple cart? While individual records from players like Erling Haaland have dominated headlines, with his 100 goals in 105 games, let’s not forget the collective. Manchester City are on their longest unbeaten run since their 30-day unbeaten run between April 2017 and January 2018. And their unbeaten run now stretches to 28 games without a loss.

Funnily enough, the last team to have beaten Newcastle at St James Park was the very same Manchester City side back in January. So, can the tide turn against Pep Guardiola’s side versus a team that is unbeaten at home in 10 matches? I’m not sure. I mean whatever the outcome is, whatever team that the man has been able to coach, Eddie Howe has never been able to beat Manchester City. Even if you go all the way back to his days at Bournemouth, he failed to beat City.

City, this time, however, have several injuries. Oscar Bobb has a broken leg and is not available. Nathan Ake is another casualty for Man City. There are some top-class players that are out for them. It seems like Kevin de Bruyne’s hamstring injury is still plaguing him. A lot of people are saying that the injury affected him against Arsenal last weekend. So, he may be out this weekend too.

Rodri is the biggest talking point in terms of injuries. He is out until next season unless something miraculous happens and he recovers sooner. I’m just looking forward to a game that I think will bring a lot of excitement, and a lot of goals. And it will be interesting to see if Manchester City will continue their winning run.

Sign up for the Showmax Premier League mobile plan for R69 p/m at www.showmax.com for all Premier League and PSL action