Man City face Newcastle with nothing much at stake - Premier League predictions

Man City's Ayemeric Laporte and Newcastle's Federico Fernandez

Ayemeric Laporte fights for the ball against Newcastle's Federico Fernandez in a premier league encounter at the Etihad. It ended 2-0. (Sky Sports)

Newcastle vs Manchester City
St. James’s Park
8:00pm

There’s no final day madness at the bottom this season as Fulham, West Brom and Sheffield United are all relegated with two games to spare, this means Newcastle can take their foot off the gas when they host the champions on Friday.

Manchester City clinched the title without even kicking the ball on Tuesday when Manchester United were beaten shockingly by Leicester at Old Trafford 2-1, handing Pep Guardiola his third title in four years.

With the Citizens in the Champions League final in another two weeks, it’s important for them to preserve their best players and avoid unnecessary injuries but there’s also something called momentum which could be important as they face the Blues in Portugal on the 29^th of May.

Newcastle can start preparing for life in the Premier League next season, their very big win at Leicester at the beginning of the last game round earned them safety and will now face City without pressure and can try new tactics in preparation for next season.

For Manchester City, expect some fringe players, FPL managers will not find the team sheet interesting but Kevin De Bruyne is definitely out and won’t be featuring in the league anymore according to sources from the Etihad.

The last time these two met, Newcastle ruffled Guardiola’s feathers with a terrific long-range shot from Jonjo Shelvey who is very much likely to captain the side again when they file out on Friday night.

However, that draw is the only positive result Newcastle can point at as they have a poor against the Citizens and with nothing at stake, expect lots of goals in this one.

Discipline is also likely to fly out the window so bookings might also be a good deal.

What does Guardiola have to lose?

He will attack still but with different elements.

Nathan Ake and Benjamin Mendy are sure picks for the defence and the trio of Ferran Torres, Rodri and Sergio Aguero will get a look in with Gabriel Jesus primed to lead the line.