Manchester City’s 2-1 defeat at Newcastle last January was the trigger that actually inspired Pep Guardiola’s side to fourteen consecutive wins before claiming the Premier League title last season.

City fans will be hoping a for a different result this year at St James’ Park but despite the Magpies’ poor form recently, they do have a pretty good record at home.

Their only defeat in the league this season came on the opening day against Arsenal, and they have gone on to win two and draw three of their five other matches.

Still, the Citizens are odds-on favourites to come away with the three points on Saturday, and if you’re looking to put some money on the game, you can find genting bet offers for the best betting on sporting events.

City should be confident heading into the match, but recent performances have left some supporters concerned. They were far from convincing despite coming back to win against Chelsea last weekend, while the draw versus Shakhtar midweek certainly wasn’t a vintage display either.

On top of that, the team’s displays on the road have not been particularly consistent. There have been comfortable wins against the likes of West Ham, Bournemouth and Crystal Palace, but the defeat versus Norwich and the performance against Everton were not up to the team’s usual standards.

After last year, City’s players won’t be complacent heading up to Tyneside, but their vulnerability at the back means even a top drawer display from Guardiola’s men in the final third could be undone by defensive errors.

Saying that, though, Steve Bruce’s Magpies are unlikely to be offering a great deal of threat going forwards. They have managed five goals at home and just eleven in total so far this season.

They are the joint-second lowest scorers in the Premier League, only behind Watford, but as we saw last season, form can go out the window and spring a freak result.

If City do concede the first goal, you can bet that Newcastle will put every man behind the ball in order to seal another shock win. Concentration and discipline will be absolutely vital for the defence.

With Liverpool playing later in the day as well, it should focus the minds of the players to close the gap on the league leaders to just six points. It certainly will be a battle tomorrow afternoon but you’d expect the away side to have more than enough quality to come through.