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.
