Newcastle face a huge challenge to prove their season has turned a corner when they host bogey side Manchester City this weekend.
The Magpies secured a huge morale-boosting victory last time out after beating rivals Sunderland in the first Tyne-Wear derby to take place in seven years.
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Newcastle and Man City will face off on SaturdayCredit: Getty
Eddie Howe had been under increasing pressure to reverse Newcastle’s horror form over the festive period.
The Toon crashed out of Europe and the Carabao Cup in December, before losing three Premier League games on the bounce.
Victory over the Black Cats may prove to be a false dawn, however, with champions Man City the club’s next opponents.
Newcastle did beat Pep Guardiola’s men in the EFL Cup earlier this season, but their Premier League form tells a different story.
Newcastle have won just one of their last 32 Premier League games against City, beating them 2-1 at St James’ Park in January 2019.
The Tyneside outfit have managed just five draws while having been on the losing end a whopping 26 times – the most recent of which came in a 1-0 defeat at the Etihad in August.
The manner of those defeats are also emphatic, with City winning more games (30), scoring more goals (98), and keeping more clean sheets (22) against Newcastle than they have against any other opponent.
Guardiola will be anticipating his side reaching a century of goals, with both Kevin De Bruyne and Jeremy Doku returning from injury.
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Both Howe and Guardiola will be desperate to secure all three pointsCredit: Getty
Furthermore, City are not a side that ever dish out any favours and usually always relish taking on a team enduring a losing run.
The Champions League holders have only lost one of their last 32 Premier League games against teams who’ve lost their previous three games (W22 D9), a 3-2 home defeat to Tottenham in February 2022.
Howe for one realises the task facing his Newcastle side, saying: “[City] are the team to beat, their record in recent seasons has been incredible.
“They have the best manager in the world, their style of play is difficult to combat, but I believe we can really compete in this game.”
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