Newcastle vs Man City LIVE early team news, Kevin De Bruyne latest and how to watch
Manchester City return to Premier League action this evening when they take on Newcastle at St James' Park. With their main rivals for the title not in action this weekend, City have the chance to leapfrog Aston Villa into second place and close the gap on leaders Liverpool to two points.
City are currently on a five-match winning streak, the last victory coming last weekend with their 5-0 rout of Huddersfield Town in the FA Cup. The home side, however, are on a dreadful run of form in the league having lost their last three, and they'll hope that their win over Sunderland in the FA Cup Tyne-Wear derby last weekend will bring a change of fortunes for them.
Pep Guardiola has confirmed that City will be without Erling Haaland, John Stones and Manuel Akanji for the trip to the north-east, and Jack Grealish has been suffering from an illness this week. But the manager also confidently stated in his press conference yesterday that Kevin De Bruyne was ready to start today, following his return from the subs' bench last weekend.
For Newcastle, midfielder Joelinton is out and faces up to at least six weeks on the sidelines with a thigh injury. Jacob Murphy (shoulder) is closing in on a return while Harvey Barnes (toe) has resumed light training, but Nick Pope, Matt Targett, Javier Manquillo, Joe Willock, Elliot Anderson and Callum Wilson remain on the casualty list. Sandro Tonali is suspended.
Follow below for build-up, match updates, analysis and reaction from our team at St James' Park, and find out how to watch it.
Understandably, the Blues' options are somewhat limited thanks to the injury issues which are hindering the team.
However, there is still a strong core to the squad which should mean a familiar line-up at St
Read on manchestereveningnews.co.uk
