Wilfried Bony
Bony may start against Newcastle Getty

Manchester City host Newcastle United at the Etihad on Saturday as Manuel Pellegrini's men desperately look to close the seven-point gap with Chelsea at the top of the table.

Where to Watch

Kick-off is set for 5.30pm GMT. Live coverage of the game will be available on Sky Sports 1 and Sky Sports 1 HD.

Overview

The Citizens will be buoyed by the return to action of Yaya Toure after winning the African Cup of Nations with new signing Wilfried Bony, who is expected to play his first game for the Champions. Sergio Aguero is likely to keep his position at the top after scoring a brace against Stoke City with the Chilean likely to resort to a 4-4-2 system to accommodate his latest acquisitions.

City have won only one game since Toure's departure, which included a 2-0 loss at the Etihad to Arsenal and a 1-1 draw with leaders Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

They have crashed out of the FA Cup to Championship opponents Middlesbrough in the run-in and are currently in the competition to retain their league title and also progress in the Champions League against Barcelona.

Vincent Kompany and Eliaquim Mangala are also fit to face Newcastle and are likely to slot straight into the squad to replace Martin Demichelis, who has done an acceptable job thus far.

Meanwhile, Newcastle are also in good form coming into the fixture, unbeaten in their last three games since John Carver was appointed the manager of the Magpies on a permanent basis.

The Magpies are likely to stay unchanged from their 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace in their last game and will have pleasing memories of their 2-0 win over the Champions in the Capital One Cup last year.

What Managers Say

Manuel Pellegrini: "It's important to have Yaya back, he's an important player for us. We are sure Yaya will be the same player as he was before he left. We didn't win a lot of games without him but there were other problems too. We had players coming back from injuries - when you put both together, maybe that explains it."

John Carver: "Every time we have come up against him [Bony] when he was at Swansea, he was a handful. But we will have to deal with it. Our defenders lately have defended quite well. We have not conceded too many goals, and hopefully that will continue. It's quite funny because Mike Williamson, when he comes up against him, he likes that type of player."

Betting Odds (By 888Sport.com)

  • Manchester City Win: 5/18
  • Draw: 19/4
  • Newcastle United Win: 11/1

Team News

Manchester City

Possible XI: Hart; Zabaleta, Kompany, Mangala, Kolarov; Fernandinho, Toure; Nasri, Silva, Milner; Bony

Newcastle United

Possible XI: Krul; Janmaat, Coloccini, Williamson, Haidara; Tiote, Colback; Cabella, Sissoko, Gouffran; Cisse

Manchester City FC