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2024/25 English Premier League
Matchday 6
Newcastle United v Manchester City
St James' Park
Newcastle upon Tyne, England
Saturday, 28 September 2024
Kick-off is at 13h30
Manchester City will be looking to stay ahead of the chasing pack when they travel to St James' Park for a Premier League clash with Newcastle on Saturday, September 28 in the lunchtime kick-off.
The Citizens saw their perfect start to the season come to an end on matchday 5 following a 2-2 draw with 10-man Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium.
Pep Guardiola's side still occupy top spot in the league, although they are just one point clear of Liverpool (2nd) and Aston Villa (3rd), while the Gunners (4th) are a further point back.
Erling Haaland maintained his impressive record of scoring in every game thus far after breaking the deadlock in the ninth minute against Arsenal to take his tally to 10 goals.
The Magpies suffered their first defeat of the campaign with a 3-1 reverse at Fulham on September 21, which was the first time they had conceded more than one goal in 2024-25.
Eddie Howe's side had recorded back-to-back 1-0 wins against Tottenham and Wolves after dropping their first points in a 1-1 draw with Bournemouth on matchday 2.
The Tynesiders find themselves only one point outside the top four in sixth place and are behind Chelsea (5th) on goal difference.
In team news, the hosts remain without Jamaal Lascelles, Sven Botman (both knee), Callum Wilson (back) and Lewis Miley (ankle), while the visitors will be sweating on the fitness of Rodri, who was forced off with a knee injury after 21 minutes against the Gunners. Kevin De Bruyne (groin), Oscar Bobb and Nathan Ake (thigh) continue to be unavailable.
Howe wants to see a reaction from his players after admitting their performance, especially in the first half, was the worst he'd seen during his time on Tyneside.
"Today was the worst we've played. Especially in the first half, the second half was better," he said. "In the other games it's not been perfect but there's been solidity.
"But today, defensively, we were not good enough and we're going to work to put it right. First half we were too reactive, Fulham played well but we conceded a poor first goal.
"It's difficult to go away from home when you give them help and that first half was tough. But in the second half we responded well and chased the game effectively until the end. We need to reflect and analyse that."
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Guardiola hailed City for a passionate display against their title rivals, who sat deep following the dismissal of Leandro Trossard at the end of the first half.
"Many, many things happened, they delayed the game, we behaved really well and still have this passion inside to fight the contender to steal our Premier League," the Spaniard said.
"Still we are there. We started well, scored a fantastic goal and then conceded. We know that Arsenal are really quick with [Gabriel] Martinelli and [Bukayo] Saka.
"[Riccardo] Calafiori makes an exceptional goal, the second goal we didn't defend well, give credit to them."
Head-to-Head (Last Five Premier League Meetings)
Matches - 5
Newcastle wins - 0
Man City wins - 4
Draws - 1
Premier League Matchday 6 fixtures:
Saturday, September 28
13h30: Newcastle United v Manchester City
16h00: Arsenal v Leicester City
16h00: Brentford v West Ham United
16h00: Chelsea v Brighton & Hove Albion
16h00: Everton v Crystal Palace
16h00: Nottingham Forest v Fulham
18h30: Wolverhampton Wanderers v Liverpool
Sunday, September 29
15h00: Ipswich Town v Aston Villa
17h30: Manchester United v Tottenham Hotspur
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