Newcastle United vs Manchester City. Premier League.
St James' Park, Newcastle.
Newcastle will be without Callum Wilson while John Stones is back from suspension for Man City; watch Newcastle vs Man City live on Sky Sports Premier League and Main Event from 7.30pm on Friday - kick-off 8pm
Friday 14 May 2021 19:23, UK
Team news, stats and prediction ahead of Newcastle vs Man City in the Premier League on Friday, live on Sky Sports (kick-off 8pm).
Newcastle striker Callum Wilson will miss Friday night's Premier League clash with newly-crowned champions Manchester City through injury.
Wilson suffered a hamstring injury during last Friday's 4-2 win at Leicester, in which he scored his 11th and 12th goals of the campaign, and will sit out the final three games of the season as a result.
Loan signing Joe Willock is fit after struggling with cramp late in the game at the King Power Stadium, but defender Fabian Schar serves the second instalment of a three-match ban and goalkeeper Karl Darlow and midfielder Isaac Hayden (both knee), skipper Jamaal Lascelles (foot) and winger Ryan Fraser (groin) are still sidelined.
Man City are likely to be without playmaker Kevin De Bruyne, who is still not fully fit after missing last week's loss to Chelsea through fatigue.
Defender John Stones is available again after completing a three-match domestic suspension.
Manager Pep Guardiola, who may start to rotate his squad in preparation for the Champions League final, has no other fitness concerns.
Newcastle vs Man City will be shown live on Sky Sports Premier League and Main Event from 7.30pm; kick-off 8pm. Sky Sports customers can watch in-game clips in the live match blog on the Sky Sports website and app. Highlights will also be published on the Sky Sports digital platforms and the Sky Sports Football YouTube channel shortly after the final whistle.
It seems strange to think there was a time this season where Manchester City - congratulations to them - weren't fancied to win the Premier League. After nine games - as all the talk surrounding Jose Mourinho masterclasses after Spurs' 2-0 win over City - Pep's boys were 10th in the table yet the bookmakers rarely took any chances with them - even at that stage they were only 11/4 with Sky Bet to win it. A fine price looking back if you were shrewd enough. There isn't much to get excited about in the outright match betting with City trading at 2/9 with Sky Bet - I don't need to tell you they will most likely win this match.
I'll go card hunting instead.
Fernandinho has been channelling his inner Scott McTominay in the past two games, making seven fouls - some of them very borderline - without picking up a yellow card. They don't come more wily than the Brazilian. However, faced with marking Allan Saint-Maximin in this encounter should bring the chances of him picking up a yellow card very much into play. The flying Frenchman has drawn yellow cards off Ozan Kabak, Fabinho and Granit Xhaka in his last three appearances. Fernandinho won't be able to resist a nibble. Back him at 100/30 with Sky Bet.
JONES KNOWS PREDICTS: 0-1
BETTING ANGLE: Fernandinho to be carded (100/30 with Sky Bet)
Newcastle, in 16th place, can mathematically still finish as high as 11th if they win their remaining three Premier League games while Manchester City have already been confirmed as champions. They can finish the season on 89 points if they win all three of their remaining fixtures.
How Pep rebooted possession game: How Pep Guardiola returning to first principles and putting Bernardo Silva at the heart of his team helped turn Man City's season.
Pep and the power of the squad: Guardiola made full use of his squad to lead City to Premier League glory, with Ilkay Gundogan, Phil Foden and John Stones key men.
Are Man City a 'great' team? Manchester City have overcome the unique challenges of this season to reclaim the Premier League crown. But now comes the tricky debate about greatness...
In a special episode of the Pitch to Post Preview Podcast we look ahead to this Saturday's FA Cup Final at Wembley, where Chelsea and Leicester will battle for the trophy in front of over 20,000 fans.
Peter Smith is joined by Sky Sports News reporter Paul Gilmour and Sky Sports football writer Ron Walker to assess both sides on the back of their midweek results, the key areas which will decide the contest, and how the game will play out.
They also discuss what impact FA Cup glory would have on Brendan Rodgers' managerial career, the importance of Jonny Evans at the heart of the Leicester defence, and why former Foxes star N'Golo Kante could be the decisive player on the pitch this weekend for Chelsea.
