Manchester City have an opportunity to close within two points of Arsenal at the top of the Premier League if they can beat Newcastle United at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday night. Arsenal’s midweek draw with Wolves has gifted City an opportunity to put immense pressure on Mikel Arteta’s side, who seem to be buckling under the pressure of chasing the Premier League title. City will face a Newcastle side who are tough to beat on their day. Heading into Saturday’s crucial Premier League fixture, Pep Guardiola’s side has received a huge boost on the fitness front. Several important players are available for selection as City approach full fitness in terms of squad strength, as a massive opportunity stares them in the face.
Manchester City have Savinho and Erling Haaland available for the clash with Newcastle.
Speaking ahead of Manchester City’s crucial Premier League fixture against Newcastle, Pep Guardiola was asked about the availability of several players for Saturday night’s match at the Etihad. Guardiola revealed that Savinho and Erling Haaland are fit to play, although Jeremy Doku remains unavailable due to injury. Speaking on Savinho and Jeremy Doku’s fitness, Pep Guardiola said: “Doku is not ready and Savinho is ready.”
Erling Haaland was unavailable for Manchester City as they beat Salford City in the fourth-round of the FA Cup last weekend. City’s top-scorer was taken off at halftime of City’s 3-nil win over Fulham due to feeling uncomfortable. Pep Guardiola nodded when asked if Haaland was now back at full fitness.
The Manchester City squad have also had three days of rest earlier this week. That rest has come at the ideal time for Pep Guardiola’s side. The City manager also said his team has trained well after their period of rest. Speaking on this week for his team, Guardiola said: “The important thing is the players are revitalised after three days. We’ve had a lot of months with few days off – games every weekend and midweek.”
“I don’t have to run one metre so for me it’s not a problem. After one or two days I sleep well so it’s enough.”
“For the players it’s really good, they have a long week to rest, to forget [about football] and to train good. And they trained good in the last few days.”
Only Jeremy Doku, Mateo Kovacic and Josko Gvardiol are unavailable due to injury.
Manchester City know the opportunity ahead of them as they take on Newcastle United this weekend. They also know the task at hand across the remainder of this season. Arsenal’s slip-up against Wolves has seemingly swung momentum in the title race. But the opportunity to seize momentum in the title race will only come if Manchester City beat Newcastle United. Pep Guardiola and his team will know this. Heading into Saturday night’s big match, City will only have three players unavailable, which is massive for City.
Jeremy Doku, Josko Gvardiol, and Mateo Kovacic are the only three City players unavailable due to injury for the match against Newcastle. Pep Guardiola’s side is approaching full strength in terms of fitness, which is huge, especially given the fact that it will give Pep Guardiola options to change the match if necessary against Eddie Howe’s side and across a critical stage of the 25/26 season. The value in that cannot be underestimated, especially given what is at stake against Newcastle and across the final stages of this season.
Manchester City will be boosted by the return of Erling Haaland and Savinho for this weekend’s Premier League fixture against Newcastle. That is good news heading into a match that you feel City have to win to potentially capitalize on the opportunity in front of them that Arsenal’s fragility has presented.