After a trip to Birmingham in the FA Cup last weekend, Newcastle United are on the road again this Saturday with a visit to Manchester City.
It’s the start of a tough and potentially pivotal run of games for the team, with Premier League games against Nottingham Forest and Liverpool following our game at the Etihad.
Though never easy, this could be the ideal time to face Pep Guardiola’s out of sorts City, who will be without a few key players this weekend – just as one or two return in black and white.
Man City suffer double blow
Rodri won’t be the only Man City star missing our trip to Manchester this weekend, with two players suffering injuries in their midweek defeat to Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League.
Manuel Akanji is facing a lengthy spell on the sidelines after limping off late, while Jack Grealish was also forced off with a groin problem.
Guardiola does have strength in depth, of course, but Akanji has developed into one of City’s most dependable defenders at a time where the Champions have been shipping goals in Rodri’s absence.
With two new injuries and plenty of mental and physical energy used up as Real Madrid scored two late goals to win on Wednesday night, this could be an ideal time for us to face a surprisingly fragile City.
Alongside this double blow for Pep, there is positive news from Tyneside on the fitness of Anthony Gordon, Dan Burn and Sven Botman.
As reported yesterday, Gordon is fine and fit to return after overcoming a quad injury that kept him out of last weekend’s FA Cup win at Birmingham.
Burn (groin) and Botman (knee) have also escaped anything serious, with scans results showing no significant injuries, giving both an outside chance of making the squad on Saturday.
