:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/58113169/485684458.jpg.0.jpg)
Premier League leaders and virtual champions Manchester City are back in action on Wednesday night with what promises to be one of the toughest away matches of the season: the Blues travel to St. James’ Park, the home of Newcastle United and one of the toughest grounds in England.
Newcastle fans are known worldwide for their insane passion for the Magpies and it’s not an exaggeration to say that sometimes they win games by themselves. Newcastle have had a solid season after promotion from the Championship despite not having the strongest of squads, with Rafael Benítez doing a great job with limited resources.
Wednesday will be a tough challenge for the Blues: the ground, the physicality of the Newcastle side, Rafa’s tactics, all of it. But City seem unstoppable at the moment, and a victory at St. James’ Park will prove once again how good this team is. In any game. Against any team. Anywhere.
MATCH INFO, TV & STREAMING
Date/Time: Wednesday, December 27, 2017, 7:45pm GMT (UK), 8:45pm WAT (Nigeria), 2:45pm ET, 11:45am PT (USA), 1:15am IST (India, next day)
Venue: St. James’ Park, Newcastle upon Tyne, England
Television: Sky Sports Premier League (UK), NBCSN (USA), SuperSport 3 (Nigeria), TSN4 (Canada), Star Sports Select 1 (India)
Online streaming: Sky GO (UK), NBC Sports Live, NBC Sports Gold (USA), TSN GO (Canada), FuboTV (7-day free trial, click here to sign up)
(Listings via LiveSoccerTV)
TEAM NEWS
Despite the crazy number of fixtures in December, the schedule hasn’t been that bad for the Blues: there has been a really nice interval between the matches that gives the players time to rest and gives Pep Guardiola the ability to rotate the way he wants to instead of being forced to do it because of tired legs.
Against Newcastle, four days after the Bournemouth game, it’s the same scenario. Pep doesn’t have to worry that much about players being extremely tired from the last game, and his rotation will take into account not only the physical aspect (which is usually the only aspect that matters in December), but the tactical aspect as well. So expect a strong side with a few changes, but still really strong and ready to attack, score goals and win another game.
POSSIBLE LINEUPS
Manchester City (4-3-3)
Ederson; Walker, Otamendi, Mangala, Delph; Gundogan, Fernandinho, Silva; Bernardo, Jesus, Sané
Newcastle United (4-4-2)
Elliot; Yedlin, Lascelles, Lejeune, Manquillo; Ritchie, Hayden, Merino, Atsu; Joselu, Gayle
PREDICTION
This will be tough for a while, but I firmly believe we’ll get the job done in the second half: 2-0 to the Blues, 18 straight wins, 15 points ahead of United.