Newcastle club legend backs them for their upcoming fixture against Manchester City

Newcastle United would host Pep Guardiola's Manchester City in their upcoming PL fixture. While it has been evidently clear that the Magpies club has shown little improvement since the season began and feels much inferior to Manchester City, who have gone strength to strength, the Magpies do have certain chances to grab something from the fixture.

Newcastle club legend backs them for their upcoming fixture against Manchester City

Given that Eddie Howe's side would face Man City without their arguably two best players, Rodri and de Bruyne, the Magpies club could fancy their chances if they improvise on their midfield and offensive presence. Not to forget, in the last few matchups between the two clubs, at St. James, Toon stars Anthony Gordon, Bruno Guimaraes, and Alexander Isak have shown up brilliantly, and if they do manage to replicate that, it is going to be a rather interesting contest.

Analyzing the above factors, club legend Alan Shearer has given a scoreline prediction, backing the Magpies, unlike Paul Merson and Chris Sutton. Being very optimistic for Howe's side, the Premier League record scorer has predicted a draw at St. James, which would be brilliant from Newcastle's perspective.

Having witnessed the intense rivalry for many seasons now, Shearer predicts it to be a rather interesting one once again. Speaking of the fixture, Alan Shearer mentioned,

"“Over the years, we’ve seen some blockbuster games between Newcastle and City at St James’ Park, and I’m expecting the same again for a couple of reasons.”"

- Alan Shearer

However, the former Toon star admitted that the Etihad Club, even without having Rodri and de Bruyne as the favorites, Shearer is still going for a draw result. Believing in Howe's unit, Shearer mentioned that if the side manages to return to their aggressive, intense playstyle, they can cause real problems for the visitors. Shearer remarked,

"“Newcastle’s identity was about pressing teams and being aggressive, and we haven’t seen that yet this season, so they have to get that back into their game. If they can do that on Saturday, then it’ll be really tough for Man City.""

- Alan Shearer

While certainly, the Magpies club could challenge the defending PL Champions, it is clear they would have to perform much above their usual level this season. Newcastle fans would hope that they get to do some handy points from the fixture, and even a draw could be very helpful for their season ahead.