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Manchester City can close the gap on Premier League leaders Arsenal to one point
Chris WilsonSaturday 22 November 2025 15:35 GMTComments
(AP)
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Manchester City will look to close the gap on Premier League leaders Arsenal as they make the trip to an out-of-sorts Newcastle side.
Pep Guardiola’s men ensured they kept pace with the high-flying Gunners going into the international break, comfortably dispatching defending champions Liverpool with ease to stay within four points of top spot.
They now have the chance to pile extra pressure on Mikel Arteta going into the North London derby tomorrow, with Arsenal already fearing the tide could be beginning to turn against them after star centre-back Gabriel was injured on Brazil duty.
The Magpies stand in their way but Eddie Howe will need a much improved display from his side if they are to overcome City. With four losses in their last six, Newcastle went into the weekend just two points above the relegation zone.
Follow all the action from St James’s Park in our live blog below:
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Newcastle vs Manchester City live
- Man City travel to Newcastle looking to pile pressure on leaders Arsenal | Live on Sky Sports, kick-off 5:30pm GMT
- City start the day four points adrift of the Gunners
- Newcastle have lost four in their last six and teeter above the relegation zone
- Eddie Howe's side could welcome back three key players
Newcastle's triple injury boost for the Man City visit
Eddie Howe is hopeful he will be able to welcome back three key players from injury for Newcastle’s stern test against Manchester City.
Anthony Gordon and Nick Pope are at least in contention after withdrawing from England duty with a hip problem and a concussion respectively, while Tino Livramento could also make a return after eight weeks out.
"Anthony Gordon is very close,” Howe said. “He's worked well during the break and he's touch and go for the game. We'll make a very late decision.
“Nick Pope has trained and there's no problems there."
On Livramento, he added: “He’s very close. He's trained in the international break which is great to see. He's such an important player for us and it's great to have him back training with the group.
“He's done a lot of work. He's been very, very good professionally with how he's dealt with the injury and the work he's done with the physios so I'd say he's in good shape."
Eddie Howe provides triple injury boost for Newcastle ahead of Man City test
Newcastle start the weekend just two points above the relegation zone as they play host to Manchester City Will Castle22 November 2025 15:35The Nick Woltemade problem and Eddie Howe’s challenge to save Newcastle’s struggling season
There are plenty of barometers of the Premier League’s strength. One of the more ridiculous is to say the sixth-best team in Europe are only the 14th finest in England. It can be a quirk of autumnal tables: with trips to Marseille and Paris Saint-Germain to come, Newcastle may not finish sixth in the initial phase of the Champions League, even if an Aston Villa-style surge to the quarter-finals does not seem utterly implausible. Nor, in all probability, will a side who finished fifth in England last season end up quite as low. There are precedents for their initial stumbles: Newcastle were 12th in early December in 2024. They showed a slow start can be no impediment to Champions League qualification.
And yet these are unusually troubled times on Tyneside. Newcastle could cite the fixture list, with six away games in their first 11, with the two home defeats to last season’s top two, each coming cruelly late in injury time after spirited showings. Yet more recent memories are of strangely supine performances at West Ham and Brentford, twice leading and yet losing 3-1. They beat Athletic Bilbao in between and have booked another Carabao Cup quarter-final place but it has nevertheless entered the ranks of the worrying starts.
Read more from Richard Jolly:
The Woltemade problem and Eddie Howe’s challenge to save Newcastle’s season
Newcastle are going well in the Champions League but their flagging position in the Premier League is indicative of the raft of issues in Eddie Howe’s new-look teamRichard Jolly22 November 2025 15:20Erling Haaland backed to beat Shearer 100-goal record on Toon hero’s home turf
Pep Guardiola hopes to see Manchester City striker Erling Haaland break Alan Shearer’s record as the fastest man to reach 100 Premier League goals on the former England captain’s old St James’ Park stomping ground this weekend.
“It would be good because that means he’s scored goals!” Guardiola said.
“Alan Shearer has been so far the greatest top scorer in this league and whatever happens with Erling in his career here, Alan Shearer will still be top (for) his quality to score goals.”
The Spaniard added: “You don’t have to know mathematics to realise that if he (Haaland) stays a long, long time and continues this average, he will be close to Harry Kane and close to Alan Shearer, that’s for sure. But I don’t know what’s going to happen in the future, to be honest.”
(Action Images via Reuters)Will Castle22 November 2025 15:05Predicted line-ups
Newcastle XI: Pope; Trippier, Thiaw, Botman, Hall; Tonali, Guimaraes, Joelinton; Murphy, Woltemade, Gordon
Man City XI: Donnarumma; Nunes, Dias, Gvardiol, O’Reilly; Bernardo, Gonzalez; Cherki, Foden, Doku; Haaland
Will Castle22 November 2025 14:50Manchester City team news
Rodri is expected to miss out for the visitors after a setback in his own return from a lengthy layoff.
Meanwhile, Mateo Kovacic is set to undergo surgery on a persistent Achilles injury and will be out for some time.
(AFP via Getty Images)Will Castle22 November 2025 14:45Newcastle team news
Dan Burn will miss out after being sent off against Brentford, while Nick Pope was also forced off in the same game after enduring a concussion.
Pope joined Anthony Gordon in being withdrawn from England duty due to injury but Howe has confirmed they are in contention to feature.
Tino Livramento could also make a long-awaited comeback to the matchday squad after recovering from a knee ligament injury.
(PA Wire)Will Castle22 November 2025 14:40Is Newcastle vs Manchester City on TV?
Newcastle host Manchester City at St James’ Park on Saturday 22 November, with kick-off at 5.30pm.
How can I watch it?
Viewers in the UK can watch the game on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Premier League, as well as streaming service Sky Go. If you’re not a Sky customer, you can grab a NOWTV Day Pass here to watch without a subscription.
Will Castle22 November 2025 14:35Good afternoon
Hello there and welcome to The Independent’s live coverage of Manchester City’s trip to Newcastle in the Premier League!
Pep Guardiola’s men have a great opportunity to pile some extra pressure on league leaders Arsenal going into tomorrow’s North London derby and could reduce their lead at the top to just one point by the end of the night.
Newcastle will hope to thwart the Citizens but will need to snap out of a poor run of form that has seen them drop towards the bottom three.
Stay tuned for all the build-up, team news and action from St James’s Park!
Will Castle22 November 2025 14:30More about
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