Nico in for home debut as City make six changes for Newcastle United clash

Manchester City F.C.

·15 Februari 2025

Nico in for home debut as City make six changes for Newcastle United clash

Pep Guardiola has made six changes to his City side to face Newcastle United this afternoon.

The boss has brought Rico Lewis, Abdukodir Khusanov, Nico, Ilkay Gundogan, Phil Foden and Omar Marmoush in from the side that lost 3-2 in Tuesday's Champions League play-off first leg with Real Madrid.

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Nico will play at the Etihad Stadium for the first time as a City player after his club debut was cut short at Leyton Orient last Saturday.

Erling Haaland will captain the side.

Manuel Akanji, Ruben Dias, Nathan Ake, Bernardo Silva, Jack Grealish and Kevin De Bruyne step out.

It’s fifth vs. sixth at the Etihad Stadium, with City and Newcastle level on points and goal difference, while we have the edge through goals scored.

Victory for either side will see them move into the top four, so it's all to play for.

WATCH: Memorable Moments: City v Newcastle

Teams

CITY XI: Ederson, Lewis, Khusanov, Stones, Gvardiol, Nico, Gundogan, Foden, Marmoush, Savinho, Haaland

Subs: Ortega Moreno, Kovacic, Doku, De Bruyne, Bernardo, Reis, Nunes, O'Reilly, McAtee

Tactics

Rico Lewis will be on the right of the defence, with Josko Gvardiol on the left. Abdukodir Khusanov and John Stones will play through the middle.

Ahead of them, Nico and Ilkay Gundogan will compete with Newcastle's much-lauded midfield while Phil Foden gets creative ahead of them.

Omar Marmoush and Savinho will operate on the flanks in support of central striker and skipper Erling Haaland.

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City-centric build-up can also be enjoyed over on Matchday Live, with Sam Allardyce and Andy Morrison our special guests from around 14:00 (UK).

Once the game gets under way, Alistair Mann and former City forward Clive Allen will provide live commentary from the Etihad, while those with push notifications turned on will also receive alerts as the key moments unfold.

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A detailed match report and reaction from both Pep Guardiola and players alike can be accessed soon after the final whistle.

Highlights from the game will be made available from 19:00, with a more extended package then published at midnight, alongside a CITY+ full-match replay.

WATCH: Pep praises ‘excellent’ Haaland and Isak ahead of Newcastle clash

Match stats

We have lost just one of our last 34 Premier League games against Newcastle (W27 D6), going down 2-1 at St James’ Park in January 2019.
We have won our last 15 home Premier League games against Newcastle, keeping clean sheets in the last five. Overall, we haven't lost in our last 20 home league games against the Magpies (W18 D2) since a 1-0 loss at Maine Road in September 2000.
Only three teams have had longer such winning runs against an opponent in English top-flight history: Everton against Fulham (22 from 1961 to 2018), Aston Villa against Sheffield United (16 from 1903 to 1921) and Manchester United against Luton (16 from 1955 to 2023, still ongoing).
We have scored in each of our last 32 Premier League games against Newcastle – only three teams have had a longer scoring streak against an opponent in English top-flight history: Chelsea against Newcastle (37 from 1933 to 1969), Tottenham against Newcastle (35 from 1922 to 1961) and Everton against Blackburn (34 from 1925 to 1962).
Newcastle United have won each of their last four Premier League games on the road; they last won five in succession in October 1994, the only previous time they’ve done so in the competition.
Five of Savinho’s six Premier League assists for Manchester City in the Premier League this season have been for Erling Haaland, only Newcastle United’s Jacob Murphy for Alexander Isak (6) has more assists for a specific teammate this term.
Newcastle United’s Anthony Gordon has scored in each of his last two Premier League games against Manchester City, the last player to score in three successive games against the reigning champions was Ollie Watkins in December 2021.