Preview: Newcastle United vs. Manchester City - prediction, team news, lineups

Manchester City travel to Newcastle United on Friday night in their first match since being officially crowned Premier League champions.

The Citizens lost 2-1 to Chelsea last time out, but Manchester United's home loss to Leicester City on Tuesday evening made certain of a fifth title in 10 seasons.

As for Newcastle, they are now assured of Premier League safety thanks to an upturn in results that has eased the pressure on boss Steve Bruce.

Match preview

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With the EFL Cup and Premier League now in the bag, City's main focus over the remaining few weeks of the season is to complete a famous treble by winning the Champions League.

Chelsea await in the final on May 29 - whether that be in Istanbul, London or Lisbon - but Pep Guardiola's men have three more league games to play before then.

Momentum will be key, of course, and the Citizens will be eager to quickly respond to last week's disappointing loss at the hands of the Blues on home soil.

Raheem Sterling gave City the lead just before half time and they would have been crowned champions on their own turf had the scoreline stayed that way.

However, Sergio Aguero's fluffed Panenka penalty moments later proved costly as goals from Hakim Ziyech and Marcos Alonso earned Thomas Tuchel's side a 2-1 comeback win.

A fifth Premier League defeat of the campaign did not matter all that much, though, thanks to Leicester's victory at Old Trafford on Tuesday to officially end the title race.

City do still have targets to aim for, however, including an all-time record for successive away wins in the top four tiers of English league football.

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That record is currently jointly-held by City themselves and Chelsea, but a win at St James' Park would move the Citizens outright in front with 12 on the spin.

Newcastle will be out to stop that from happening, and they showed last week exactly what they are capable of when the pressure is off.

The Magpies raced four goals ahead against Leicester at the King Power Stadium and, while City did make things interesting with two late goals, a 4-2 win was still a great result.

That was United's third win in five matches, the other wins in that sequence coming against Burnley and West Ham United, and they are assured of top-flight football next season.

Bruce has now challenged his side to better last season's points tally of 44, which they are five short of with three games to go.

With already-relegated Sheffield United and Fulham to play in their final two matches, there is no reason why the Magpies cannot achieve that target and end the season on a high.

Picking up a positive result on Friday is not out of the question, either, given that City have won just one of their last four away league games against Newcastle.

Team News

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Guardiola will want his City players in prime condition for the Champions League final, so the Catalan coach will be smart with his team selection between now and then.

Star man Kevin De Bruyne missed out against Chelsea for fitness reasons and will not be risked here if he is not 100%.

The likes of Phil Foden, Ilkay Gundogan and Bernardo Silva were named among the substitutes against Chelsea and should each return to the starting lineup here.

Aguero is among those expected to make way after costing City victory against Chelsea, paving the way for Gabriel Jesus to return up top, while John Stones is back from suspension.

Newcastle also have a player banned for this match, with defender Fabian Schar once again absent following his red card in the defeat to Arsenal last time out at St James' Park.

Five others are expected to miss out through injury, including 12-goal striker Callum Wilson, who will play no further part this season because of a hamstring problem.

Ciaran Clark is pushing for inclusion after shaking off an injury issue, while Joe Willock seems certain to start after scoring for the fourth game running last Friday.

Newcastle United possible starting lineup:
Dubravka; Fernandez, Clark, Dummett; Murphy, Almiron, Shelvey, Willock, Ritchie; Saint-Maximin, Joelinton

Manchester City possible starting lineup:
Ederson; Walker, Stones, Dias, Zinchenko; Silva, Rodrigo, Gundogan; Mahrez, Jesus, Foden

We say: Newcastle United 1-1 Manchester City

City have wrapped up the title with a few games to spare and can now afford to switch focus to their upcoming Champions League final clash with Chelsea.

Guardiola will likely chop and change his side over the next fortnight with that game in mind, which Newcastle could take advantage of.

The Magpies cruised to victory against Leicester last week and took points off Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur last month, and we can see them claiming a point on Friday night.

Video prediction

Watch the Sports Mole Football Shorts prediction for this game below: