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2023/24 English Premier League
Matchday 2
Manchester City v Newcastle United
Etihad Stadium
Manchester, England
Saturday, 19 August 2023
Kick-off is at 21h00
Newcastle will be in buoyant mood when they travel to the Etihad Stadium to face defending champions Manchester City in the
Premier League on Saturday, August 19.
The Magpies started the new season with a bang after they thumped Aston Villa 5-1 at St James' Park, having led as early as the sixth minute through new signing Sandro Tonali.
Eddie Howe's side went unbeaten in pre-season and drew 3-3 with Villa in the Premier League Summer Series so the result on the opening weekend came as a bit of a surprise.
The Tynesiders gave City a scare in the corresponding fixture a year ago as they raced into a 3-1 lead before being pegged back to settle for a 3-3 draw.
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Meanwhile, the Citizens kicked off their title defence with a comfortable 3-0 victory over newly-promoted Burnley at Turf Moor, where Erling Haaland took just four minutes to get on the scoresheet.
The Norwegian striker, who broke all sorts of records on his debut season in England, scored again in the 36th minute before Rodri wrapped up the win 15 minutes from time.
Haaland found the back of the net at St James' Park in August 2022, but failed to score on the Toon's visit to Manchester earlier this year and Howe will be hoping his defence can keep the 2022-23 Golden Boot winner quiet once more. The former Borussia Dortmund ace scored a remarkable 36 goals in just 35 games last term, which included four hat-tricks.
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Callum Wilson had to play second fiddle to Alexander Isak in 2022-23, but still ended up being the club's top scorer with 18 goals as Howe used him as an impact sub to great effect. The 31-year-old striker was at it again on the opening weekend after stepping off the bench to score Newcastle's fourth goal against the Villans.
City boss Pep Guardiola acknowledged there is still plenty of work to be done, but was pleased to see his players show a desire to push on following their historic treble-winning season.
"We are still away from our best form but we have to try and we have to try to not drop points in this period with this amount of games," Guardiola said.
"How you solve this lack of preparation is a question of mentality. We were fortunate to break the game early with the goals from Erling.
"We behaved except for 10 minutes when we gave away the ball in different positions, the team showed the heart and passion and that they want to do it again."
Howe insists the thought of locking horns with City next has quickly tempered the Magpies' celebrations following their outstanding performance against Villa.
"We have to focus on Manchester City away - it's the hardest fixture in the Premier League so that is a sobering thought for us," he said. "We're looking at can we win the game fully in the knowledge they are the best team, they have been the bench mark.
"[Counter-pressing] is a big part of our game. If you are going to press teams high and be aggressive those moments are key. If you aren't good in those aspects in the first couple of seconds of transition then you are going to have problems."
Head-to-Head (Last Five Premier League Meetings)
Matches - 5
Man City - 4
Newcastle - 0
Draws - 1
Matchday 2 fixtures:
Friday, August 18
20h45: Nottingham Forest v Sheffield United
Saturday, August 19
16h00: Fulham v Brentford
16h00: Liverpool v Bournemouth
16h00: Wolverhampton Wanderers v Brighton & Hove Albion
18h30: Tottenham Hotspur v Manchester United
21h00: Manchester City v Newcastle United
Sunday, August 20
15h00: Aston Villa v Everton
17h30: West Ham United v Chelsea
Monday, August 21
21h00: Crystal Palace v Arsenal
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