Manchester City completed their run of five successive away games unbeaten when they eased to a 3-0 victory at Bristol City in the fifth round of the FA Cup on Tuesday, courtesy of a Phil Foden brace and a late strike from Kevin De Bruyne.
The Citizens – who have set up a quarter-final tie with Vincent Kompany’s Burnley later this month – had previously cruised to a 4-1 win away against Bournemouth in the Premier League to ensure that they remain in touch with leaders Arsenal in the title race.
The reigning champions still have some catching up to do, though, as they remain five points behind the Gunners with 13 games to play, while in-form rivals Manchester United are hunting them down in third, sitting six points further back with a game in hand.
Following a lengthy period away from the Etihad Stadium, Pep Guardiola’s side will welcome a return to home soil, with four of the next five matches to be played on the blue side of Manchester including Saturday’s clash with
Newcastle, who the Citizens have beaten in each of their last 13 Premier League home meetings – only Everton against Fulham (14) have ever had a longer winning home run against an opponent in the division.
Man City currently boast the best home record in this season’s Premier League, accumulating 31 points from a possible 36 available, with a 2-1 defeat to Brentford and a 1-1 draw with Everton the only blots on their copybook.
The Citizens have also scored a total of 41 league goals on home soil so far this term, more than any other team in England’s top-four divisions.
Guardiola’s side should have few problems finding the net against Newcastle, as they have scored in each of their previous 28 league meetings with the Magpies, but keeping the ball
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out of the net could prove challenging having kept just three clean sheets in their last 16 top-flight matches, a surprisingly poor run of form on the defensive front that needs to be addressed if they wish to close down Arsenal at the summit.
However, hopes of lifting their first major domestic trophy for 68 years were quashed at the hands of Man United, who came out on top to secure a 2-0 victory courtesy of first-half strikes from Casemiroand Marcus Rashford.
The euphoria of lifting silverware could have acted as a catalyst to turn their recent league form around, but Eddie Howe has insisted that their cup final heartache will not affect their efforts to push for Champions League qualification.
