Manchester City expert Steven McInerney from Esteemed Kompany is expecting the Citizens to endure a "really difficult" game against Newcastle United's "bombastic bunch" of midfielders in Saturday's Premier League contest at the Etihad Stadium.
The reigning top-flight champions find themselves battling for a top-four finish this season; they sit fifth and level on points with sixth-placed Newcastle, but just above them on goal scored after 24 matches.
Pep Guardiola's side enter this weekend's fixture on the back of another demoralising collapse, throwing away a one-goal lead with just five minutes remaining to lose 3-2 at home to Real Madrid in the first leg of their Champions League playoff tie on Tuesday.
Newcastle, meanwhile, are in high spirits after securing their place in the EFL Cup final with an impressive 4-0 aggregate win over Arsenal, before battling past League One outfit Birmingham City via a 3-2 scoreline to advance from the fourth round of the FA Cup last weekend.
Eddie Howe's men have lost two of their last three Premier League games against Bournemouth and Fulham, but McInerney believes that the Magpies remain "very much in a good space" and has talked up the qualities of some of their star players who Man City should fear on Saturday.
Speaking to Sports Mole, McInerney said: "Newcastle are a side that City have always struggled playing against. Even at the peak of Guardiola's power, City have always struggled with Newcastle. Not always at home, in particular at St James' Park, it's been a battling ground.
Man City's midfield lacking qualities of Newcastle's "bombastic bunch"
"Newcastle right now have a little bit of that magic back and that fear factor. [Alexander] Isak is in phenomenal form, as everyone knows. An absurd striker scoring absurd amount of goals. Anthony Gordon is an elite level winger. He's absolutely flying.
"[However] it's [Newcastle's] midfield and the physicality of it and the completeness of it. I look at Manchester City's midfield over the past few months and you could list anything really (that Newcastle have) and City would be lacking it. You could argue that City are lacking a bit of magic and creativity in the middle, definitely lacking pace, legs, physicality, their defensive nous.
"When you look at Bruno Guimaraes, [Sandro] Tonali, Joelinton, that is just a bombastic bunch of midfielders. Joelinton can go on those barrelling runs, he has that old forward, striker instinct. Bruno Guimaraes is the most complete midfielder in the league, arguably, other than Rodri or Declan Rice or someone like that. I love Bruno Guimaraes. I think he's a phenomenal footballer. Creative, aggressive, a leader.
"Tonali, exactly the same, another complete midfielder. They're just fantastic and that midfield will give City so many problems, especially when you add the pace and the trickery of people like Gordon and Isak and then the full-backs bombing forward, be it [Valentino] Livramento or [Lewis] Hall or whoever.
"They're a really good side, they're well-organised, they're aggressive. Even with a couple of bad Premier League results (against Bournemouth and Fulham), they're very much in a good space, I would argue, mentally right now, and we've got to take them seriously.
"I am fearful of this game. I think Newcastle are a quality side. It's going to be really difficult - really, really difficult. The only thing that makes it a little bit easier (for City), once again, is it's at the Etihad."
Man City are set to be without both Jack Grealish and Manuel Akanji who picked up injuries in the midweek loss to Real Madrid, but Nathan Ake made a welcome return, while both Ruben Dias and John Stones have also recently recovered from setbacks.
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Can Dias, Stones quell threat of Isak in top-four battle?
A back four of Akanji, Dias, Ake and Josko Gvardiol started against Real Madrid and they held their own for large spells of the first half, with Stones initially operating in midfield before stepping back into defence midway through the second half.
McInerney believes that Man City are "a vastly different proposition" when they line up with a combination of those four or five players in defence, particularly with Dias and Stones taking up central roles, and he feels that those players have the credentials to quell the threat of Newcastle's attackers such as Isak.
"If Stones and Dias and Akanji and Ake are available, Manchester City are such a different side," he added. "If you have Akanji at right-back, Dias and Stones and Ake and Gvardiol, it just feels totally different, and if you have that settled midfield where [Nico] Gonzalez starts to show a bit of quality there, it's a totally different set up.
"I think the quality and the leadership you get from Ruben Dias - who's now City's vice-captain officially after [Kyle] Walker's left, with [Kevin] De Bruyne now the captain - if you have those players on the pitch, they can marshal Isak.
"There's so much more structure when Ruben Dias is playing, and especially alongside the experience of someone like John Stones - it makes a world of difference. City are a vastly different proposition with that defensive set-up."
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Newcastle clash an "absolute must-win" for Man City in top-four race
Bearing in mind Man City's challenging fixture schedule, with encounters against Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur - who beat City 4-0 earlier this season - Nottingham Forest and Brighton & Hove Albion on the horizon, McInerney has labelled Saturday's clash with top-four rivals Newcastle as "an absolute must-win" if they wish to qualify for next season's Champions League.
"I think City's expectations of this campaign have shifted vastly compared to what City usually aim for, and it has to be Champions League football now," said McInerney. "Of course, there's a solid chance of winning the FA Cup given the teams that are still in it, but the aim has to be top four or maybe top five this season, who knows - it has to be Champions League football.
"When you look around, Bournemouth are flying, Villa look so confident right now - they're a few points back Villa, but they can easily catch up with a few wins - Newcastle and Chelsea, they're the real threats there. If we beat Newcastle, we'd be three points clear [of them], but the fixtures are still pretty ugly for City even after Newcastle.
"We've still got Real Madrid again (in the second leg), then we've got Liverpool, Spurs, Forest and Brighton as a run of games which will test Manchester City an awful lot, so if we could pick up a victory against Newcastle, that gives us almost a little bit of leeway there for a bad result against Liverpool, for a disappointing draw against Brighton or whatever.
"My aim as a City fan is for them to just be there or thereabouts once we get out of that ugly run of fixtures, because if we are, I think at that point, I'll fancy our chances with all the players returning and the new signings."
Man City have lost just one of their last 34 Premier League games against Newcastle (W27, D6), while they most recently played out a 1-1 draw with the Magpies at St James' Park in September last year.
Press play on the video at the top of this article to hear the full discussion ahead of Man City's Premier League clash with Newcastle.
Oliver Thomas
