After facing a disappointing loss against Fulham, at the Craven Cottage, Eddie Howe's Newcastle is set to host Manchester City in the upcoming matchday. So far, the case of the two English clubs has been the exact opposite: while the Magpies head to their home after successive poor displays, Manchester City arrives at St. James Park after reducing Arsenal to a draw.
Paul Merson believes Newcastle would fall torment to Manchester City at home
Although Pep's side would be missing two of their most prominent names, Rodri and de Bruyne, in the clash against Newcastle, the club doesn't look to be in a difficult situation. In fact, Sky Sports host Paul Merson clearly holds the opinion that Newcastle, given the form they have been in, would fall torment to the Etihad club at home.
Not to forget, Merson's previous predictions about the club's loss against Fulham and a win in their Wolves outing have fallen in place aptly, and thus, chances are significant for Manchester City if the Magpies continue playing this way. Merson, while analyzing Newcastle's run so far and their fixture against Manchester City, mentioned,
"“Honestly, if we analyze Newcastle game-by-game, they’d have no points because they haven’t been good enough. They were well beaten by Fulham in the end; it was just a matter of time. If they play like that against Manchester City, they are going to get destroyed.""Paul Merson
On top of that, the former Arsenal star predicted a handsome 3-0 win for Manchester City at St. James Park. While, clearly, as per the current scenario, the Blues enter matchday 6 of the Premier League, being the favorites, a 3-0 scoreline sounds a bit intriguing, considering Newcastle's brilliant track record at home.
In fact, Eddie Howe's side has tasted defeat at their home only once this year, which came against Manchester City in a nail-biting 3-2 contest. The results of the last three games held between the two clubs indicate a win for both of them and an enthralling 3-3 draw that took place in August 2022.
Overall, while Paul Merson's prediction of Manchester City emerging victorious in the fixture might prove to be the ultimate reality, his 3-0 prediction is much less likely. Given Newcastle's past performances at St. James Park, combined with the unavailability news of Rodri and de Bruyne, the club fans would be hopeful for the Magpies to grab some points from the fixture.