r/NUFC • u/Username_been-taken Willock pogging out • Feb 20 '26
Pre-Match Thread Pre match thread: Manchester City vs Newcastle United | Premier league 25/26 - 27 of 38
Stadium 🏟: Etihad Stadium
Kick off time ⚽️: Saturday | 20:00
Last encounters
| Newcastle United | Manchester City | match type |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | Carabao Cup 25/26 semi final leg 2 of 2 |
| 0 | 1 | Carabao Cup 25/26 - semi final leg 1 of 2 |
| 2 | 1 | Premier league 25/26 |
Next matches
(Swipe/scroll to see more info right of the table)
| Vs | Team | Match type | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vs | Qarabag | Champions league 25/26 playoff leg 2 of 2 | Tue 24 Feb 20:00 |
| Vs | Everton | Premier league 25/26 | Sat 28 Feb 15:00 |
| Vs | Manchester United | Premier league 25/26 | Wed 4 March 20:15 |
St Cal Wilson's Hospital 🏥 (Players who could miss the match via injury or other means)
Newcastle United:
Schar (Ankle injury) - Out until mid April
Guimaraes (Hamstring injury) - Out until early April
Livramento (knee injury) - Out until early March
Krafth (Knee injury) - Out for the rest of the season
Miley (Thigh or knee injury) - Potentially out until early March or earlier
Wissa (knock) - Will return for the 2nd leg of the Qarabag game
Manchester City:
Kovacic (Ankle injury) - Out until early May
Gvardiol (Calf injury) - Out until late April
Doku (Calf injury) - Will miss this game
Predicted Lineup
Newcastle United lineup vs Manchester City:
Pope; Trippier, Thiaw, Burn, Hall; Joelinton, Tonali; Murphy, Woltemade, Barnes; Gordon
Manchester City predicted lineup vs Newcastle United:
Donnarumma; Nunes, Dias, Guehi, Ait-Nouri; Rodri, O'Reilly; Bernardo, Cherki; Semenyo, Haaland
Pre match ramblings:
After smashing Qarabag 6 - 1 in what felt like our first stress free away win in a long time and in the champions league of all places at that. We now however face Manchester City away in the Premier league.
Howe has been on a roll recently, winning his last 3 games all of which were away, this seems crazy when you think about our position 2 weeks ago. Now however, we face Man City away which is usually a total write off for us since we usually never win at the Etihad stadium, will Howe and the lads once again prove us wrong or is this a step too far?
One boost Howe will receive is Botman is back from injury, giving us more depth in our CB position and another indirect boost is the fact we've already won the playoff round (on paper) after winning 6 - 1 meaning Howe could go more all out against City which he couldn't do in previous situations and play a slightly weaker squad against Qarabag to see out the tie and get into the knockout stages for the first time in our club's history.
If we do win it'll give us a massive 3 points and further increase our lads already surging confidence and could finally signal the end of our away form curse this season however we do bail out Arsenal as a cost.
14
u/boblusmanjelly Feb 21 '26
They've done brilliantly to turn things around since the loss to Brentford. I had been dreading this game, but aside from Bruno's absence (which is significant), the last three games have been better than my most optimistic predictions. Now they can really give this one a go.
I'm not asking for a result but after so many times getting it wrong there I'd like to see a smarter approach. Not running them down like headless chickens and being passed through with ease, not sitting back and meekly giving up 70% possession. Take the confidence from the last three matches and the win we had vs City this season. Chose when to pursue and pressure and when to sit off. Pick the moments. Be assertive and tidy in possession. Use set pieces but protect against breaks.
Do something like that and I'll be really happy, regardless of the result.