[ad_1]
Manchester City host Newcastle United in a tasty FA Cup quarterfinal at Etihad Stadium on Saturday.
( LIVE: Stats via FotMob.com )
Pep Guardiola’s side are on the treble hunt again and are the heavy favorites to sweep aside the Magpies. After their thrilling 1-1 draw at Liverpool last weekend, City remain one point behind both Liverpool and Arsenal in the Premier League title race. But they’re in the Champions League quarterfinals and are the big favorites to defend their FA Cup crown as dreams of the double-treble remain. But Guardiola will be wary of Newcastle who have pushed City all the way in recent games, especially at St James’ Park, as City needed Kevin de Bruyne to jump off the bench on his return from injury in January to spark a sensational late comeback to win 3-2.
( MORE: How to watch Premier League in USA )
As for Newcastle, well, their season is in serious danger of fizzling out. Eddie Howe’s side have been ravaged by injuries but even with key players returning they seem to be running on empty. That was evident in their 3-2 defeat at Chelsea on Monday as Newcastle keep making big defensive mistakes and are now 15 points off the top four and seven points off sixth-place. Winning the FA Cup probably represents Newcastle’s best hope of qualifying for the Europa League next season.
How to watch Manchester City vs Newcastle live, stream link and start time
Kickoff: 1:30pm ET Saturday (March 16)
Online: ESPN+
Manchester City vs Newcastle live updates — By Nick Mendola
Manchester City vs Newcastle live score: 2-0
Goal: Bernardo Silva (13′, 31′)
Alexander Isak denied
Newcastle nearly pull one back on a technical bit of work from Alexander Isak, but his side volley cannot beat Stefan Ortega
Rinse, repeat on Bernardo Silva goal
Silva on the right. Shot into traffic. Ball goes off Newcastle defender (this time Sven Botman’s head) to wrong foot Dubravka.
2-0.
Bernardo Silva goal — Manchester City 1-0 Newcastle (10th minute)
It’s a wicked deflection, as Bernardo Silva darts into the right side of the box.
He takes a hard shot and it turns off Dan Burn, looping over goalkeeper Martin Dubravka to nestle in the far side netting.
Manchester City lineup
Ortega, Walker, Akanji, Dias, Gvardiol, Rodrigo, Kovacic, Bernardo, Foden, Doku, Haaland
Newcastle United lineup
Dubravka, Murphy, Schar, Lascelles, Borman, Burn, Guimaraes, Longstaff, Willock, Gordon, Isak
Manchester City team news, focus
Manchester City have two main injury concerns with Jack Grealish still out with a groin injury and star goalkeeper Ederson is now on the sidelines. Ederson injured his thigh giving away a penalty kick at Liverpool last weekend and is expected to be out until late March. That means Stefan Ortega will start this weekend and he is an extremely talented No. 2 who proved that against Liverpool. Guardiola will likely rotate his lineup slightly with Doku and Dias maybe coming back in but City will go extremely strong as they’re on international break after this match. Another situation to keep an eye on: Kevin de Bruyne has been left out of the Belgium squad for their upcoming games due to a groin strain and it has been reported that he will miss this game against Newcastle.
QUESTIONABLE: Kevin De Bruyne (groin), Ederson (thigh), Jack Grealish (leg)
Newcastle United team news, focus
The injuries just keep on piling up for Newcastle as both Dan Burn and Anthony Gordon came off against Chelsea on Monday. The latter looks to have suffered a bad knee injury which is another big blow in a season of big injury blows for Newcastle. Right now Eddie Howe is just getting whichever defenders he has out on the pitch and trying to make it work. Alexander Isak and Bruno Guimaraes are doing their best to lead this dishevelled Newcastle side who still have plenty of quality in midfield and attack but are finding it tough to sustain possession and momentum in games and will probably enjoy playing on the counter away at City.
OUT: Harvey Barnes (thigh), Sandro Tonali (suspension), Kieran Trippier (calf), Callum Wilson (shoulder), Joelinton (thigh), Nick Pope (shoulder) | QUESTIONABLE: Anthony Gordon (knee), Dan Burn (back)
