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Guardiola rates 'excellent' Haaland and Isak seasons

Manchester City host Newcastle United in the Premier League today, with each side looking to pull away from the other as they chase Champions League football.

City go into the game one place higher than the Magpies in the table, though both sides are level on points and goal difference, with City ahead on goals scored. Three points at the Etihad would give either club an advantage in the race for Europe, with Pep Guardiola’s side looking for an immediate response to a disappointing 3-2 loss to Real Madrid in the Champions League play-offs.

Eddie Howe’s Magpies are in buoyant mood after reaching the Carabao Cup final earlier this month, and they’ll be looking to leapfrog City with both sides dealing with injuries to vital players.

The race for top four

As mentioned before, the club that finishes in fifth is likely to get a place in the Champions League next season, easing some of the competition for places at the top.

But as it stands there are arguably six sides fighting for third, fourth and fifth, with Nottingham Forest sitting in third, four points above Chelsea currently.

Today’s game sees fifth-paced City face sixth-placed Newcastle, with both teams on the same points.

And it’s a high-flying Bournemouth side who are one point and one place below the Magpies, with Aston Villa three points further behind in eighth.

This is how the table looks currently:

3rd – Nottingham Forest, 47 points

4th – Chelsea, 43 points

5th – Manchester City, 41 points

6th – Newcastle, 41 points

7th – Bournemouth, 40 points

8th – Aston Villa, 37 points

Chris Wilson15 February 2025 14:45

The Man City trend behind latest Champions League collapse

The serial Champions League-winning manager sat in the media theatre at the Etihad Stadium and saluted his defence.

“I didn’t think the team were able to make such a sacrifice as they did this evening,” he said.

It wasn’t Pep Guardiola, though he fielded five men who were bought as centre-backs, who cost a combined £240m, four of whom began as the back four in a Champions League final when their side kept a clean sheet.

For City, it was the script of their season, shown to a wider audience. There is a broader narrative: that many do not realise how vulnerable this City are until they witness it. Even on an evening when, in terms of ambition and attacking threat, they delivered one of the best performances of their campaign, there came an end to sum it up.

Chris Wilson15 February 2025 14:30