English Premier League

Manchester City v Newcastle: Premier League – live

February 22, 2026

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5 minute read

Manchester City v Newcastle: Premier League – live

Key events

4 min: … and now Silva snaps at Burn’s heels, forcing a mistake that leads to another corner. This one played short by Silva to Nunes, who returns the ball. Silva forces the ball through a half-arsed Willock challenge, and wins another corner. Nothing comes from that one, but it’s only half cleared, so Semenyo tries his luck down the right. His cutback only just evades Haaland in the middle. Newcastle already in backs-to-the-wall mode on their least-favourite patch in the land.

2 min: City are on the front foot immediately. Ait-Nouri makes good down the left and whips in a low cross towards Marmoush. Thiaw is forced to turn behind for a corner, which is headed clear by Hall. A fast start by the hosts.

Newcastle get the ball rolling! “No-one actually believes we’ll win this game, do they?” sighs Toon fan Chris Paraskevas. “I mean the last time we won at the Etihad, the goal-scorers were Moussa Sissoko (now ruining his reputation at Panathinaikos with Rafa Benitez) and Ryan Taylor.”

The teams are out. Manchester City, in sky blue, are given a guard of honour by members of their 1976 League Cup winning side. The 50th anniversary of that victory, over Newcastle, comes up next week. The Toon in third-choice blue. As for the weather, Bert Challenor, the talent scout from Comedians by Trevor Griffiths, says it best: “I’ll never understand why they don’t run boats to Manchester.” We’ll be off in a minute.

^{(They’re waiting on London to give the word, according to Eddie Waters.)}

Pep talks to TNT. “The selection is to try to win the game … the people on the bench are for the second half … [the whole week to prepare] has been good … not just training but rest … no rest, every three days … when you can give one week, it is massively important for everyone … we can do better … we have to do better to have a chance to fight [for the title] until the end … [Newcastle] has always been a tough game … since Eddie Howe took over that position they are always getting better and better.”

Eddie Howe, whose team have won their last three away matches, speaks to TNT Sports. “We’ve played really well in the three games … played every game with a really good mindset … really good focus as well … diligent in and out of possession … showed our athleticism … we need to do all of those things tonight … we’re playing against a very good team … we need to be at our very best … we’ve tried not to dwell on [travelling to and from Azerbaijan] … it can very easily become relevant in your mind … so we’ve just focused on the good result and performance … we are trying now to back that up and be at our very best … there are no excuses from us … learning from the cup game, there was a few things we needed to do better, and we need to put them into action.”

The 5.30pm kick-off between West Ham and Bournemouth has just ended goalless. That result means Newcastle can leap into eighth place with a win tonight. A draw would move them above Everton into ninth. Their worst-case scenario doesn’t bear thinking about: a defeat by four goals or more would let Sunderland take their tenth-place spot without having to do a single thing.

Meanwhile we already knew what’s at stake for Manchester City this evening: a win and they’ll move to within two points of Arsenal at the top.

… and at the very real risk of belabouring the point to the extreme annoyance of Newcastle fans … here’s a reminder of what happened when the two teams met here just 18 days ago in the second leg of the League Cup semi-finals. We’ll stop this now.

That aforementioned 16-game winning run in this particular fixture isn’t the only statistic skewing hope in Manchester City’s favour. They’re unbeaten in 21 stagings of this match, and in English top-flight history, that’s a winning home run only bettered by Everton, who had the hex over Fulham at Goodison for a 22-match sequence between 1961 and 2018. That record could be equalled tonight.

There’s also the fact that City have scored in every single one of their last 34 matches against Newcastle. That’s a run that puts them joint-third on the following all-time list.

Chelsea against Newcastle United: 37 games between 1933 and 1969
Tottenham Hotspur against Newcastle United: 35 games between 1922 and 1961
Everton against Blackburn Rovers: 34 games between 1925 and 1962
Manchester City against Newcastle United: 34 games between 2007 and 2025 (ongoing)

Newcastle have made a habit of this sort of carry-on. So there’s a lot at stake for the stats nerds this evening. Never mind City’s title hopes, Newcastle’s outside chance of finishing in the Champions League spots, etc.

Both teams are in if-it-ain’t-broke mode. Manchester City name the same starting XI from their last Premier League match, the 3-0 home win over Fulham, with one exception: Omar Marmoush comes in for Phil Foden, who drops to the bench.

Newcastle also make one change. This is from their actual last game, the 6-1 Champions League romp at Qarabag. Jacob Ramsey replaces Harvey Barnes, who is named as a sub.

The teams

Manchester City: Donnarumma, Nunes, Dias, Guéhi, Ait-Nouri, Rodri, Silva, O’Reilly, Semenyo, Marmoush, Haaland.
Subs: Trafford, Reijnders, Stones, Cherki, Gonzalez, Savinho, Khusanov, Foden, Lewis.

Newcastle United: Pope, Trippier, Thiaw, Burn, Hall, Ramsey, Willock, Tonali, Elanga, Woltemade, Gordon.
Subs: Ruddy, Ramsdale, Joelinton, Barnes, Osula, J Murphy, A Murphy, Shahar, Neave.

Referee: Thomas Bramall
VAR: James Bell

Preamble

The conditions are perfect; the maths work out just so. If Eddie Howe wants to perform a Vitas Gerulaitis tribute act at 10pm tonight, it’s all there waiting for him. Because you’ll recall the Lithuanian Lion’s gloriously self-deprecating zinger upon snapping a 16-match losing streak against Jimmy Connors in 1980 …

And let that be a lesson to you all. No one beats Vitas Gerulaitis 17 times in a row.

… and Newcastle United have lost on each of their last 16 Premier League visits to the Etihad. So yes, all of the pieces are there, waiting to fall elegantly into place. And while it’s true that history is on the side of Manchester City, and that Pep Guardiola’s team are desperate for all three points with the title race back on, Newcastle won the corresponding fixture at St James’ Park three months ago, so breaking this long miserable sequence is far from a pipe dream. Kick-off is at 8pm GMT, and if the Toon get at least a point tonight, Howe simply has to go there. He’ll never get another chance to reference one of the great sporting bons mots. It’s on!

Source From: Premier League | The Guardian

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