The odds are stacked against Newcastle United ahead of Sunday’s trip to Premier League champions and current league leaders Manchester City - with three respected pundits all predicting defeat for the Magpies.
Pep Guardiola’s side suffered Champions League heartbreak during the week, conceding two injury-time goals to level the aggregate score before a Karim Benzema penalty in extra-time put Real Madrid into the Final in Paris. They will have to bounce back immediately on Sunday if they are to maintain their ascendancy in the title race - and Mark Lawrenson, Paul Merson and Michael Owen are all predicting exactly that.
Eddie Howe’s side remain one of the in-form teams in the league, but they had their four-game winning run ended by Liverpool last time out - an early Naby Keita goal enough to take the points, despite a strong performance from the Magpies.
READ MORE: Matt Targett fires warning to Newcastle United teammates ahead of Manchester City trip
And all three pundits are backing another defeat against Liverpool’s main title rivals, with City expected to come out fighting for the only major honour they have left to fight for.
BBC Sport’s Mark Lawrenson ha predicted a 3-0 win for the home side, adding that Guardiola’s men have shown their resilience in similar circumstances.
"City had to pick themselves up off the floor in 2019 when they lost another dramatic European tie, against Tottenham in the quarter-finals, when the title race with Liverpool was just as tight,” Lawrenson told BBC Sport.
"They recovered to beat Spurs in the league three days later, and won their final four games of the season to take the title by one point. They are the sort of team that just gets on with it."
Former Magpie Michael Owen has also backed Manchester City, but knows his former side are likely to make it difficult.
“Newcastle are one of the form teams in the league, and they gave Liverpool a tough game last week,” Owen told Betvictor. “Newcastle are safe, so they have nothing to lose here.
“This could be a nervy one at the Etihad, but I think City will have enough to get the win. 2-0 to City.”
Despite their midweek heartbreak, Manchester City’s Premier League form has been incredible. They’ve won their last three matches, conceding just once in the process, and have only lost once since the start of November - a 3-2 defeat at home to Tottenham - and Sky Sports pundit Merson is backing them to continue their form at home on Sunday.
"Newcastle are a good team, but Manchester City will still win because they are the better team overall," Merson told Sportskeeda. “That said, this is definitely one to keep an eye on as I'm not sure how much the UCL loss will affect them.”
A win against the odds would put Newcastle on 46 points, which could take them into ninth if Brighton lose at home to Manchester United on Saturday - it could also hand Liverpool the title.
