City v Newcastle Preview

Leaders Arsenal do not play until they host Tottenham in the north London derby on Sunday afternoon. City can put pressure on them when they travel to St James' Park. City face a side they have beaten 28 times in their last 35 league meetings. They have lost just once.

City went into the international break with a superbly convincing 3-0 win over Liverpool. Many saw it as a crucial win in the title race. City put their hands up to be Arsenal's primary challengers but Guardiola has been keen to play down any discussion of points differentials.

"We are in November, and in November in this league nothing is final," Guardiola said. "What happens in February or March, be careful. But the season starts now. The first start is when the transfer window is over in the summer. And now again when the international breaks are over.

"Now until March we see each other every three days. Now the real season starts. It is important to be there and to arrive at the end of the season with a chance to fight. Winning would be an important step for us."

Erling Haaland goes into Saturday's game on 99 Premier League goals from 108 appearances. He joined City in 2022. He can break Alan Shearer's record of being the fastest to reach a century on the former England captain's old ground. Shearer's record stands at 124 games.

Haaland's goalscoring exploits continued on the international front over the break. He added another four strikes to his tally. Norway qualified for their first World Cup appearance since 1998. Haaland scored 16 goals in eight games during their qualifying campaign.

"He's incredible this season," Guardiola said. "He's breaking all the records, personal and individual records, Premier League records, records for Norway. I'm happy for him, his national team. I saw that many of the squad for Norway weren't even born the last time Norway were in the World Cup.

"As a football player, a world-class player, he deserves to play a World Cup and live the experience. I'm so happy for him."

Rodri remains out for the weekend along with long term absentee Mateo Kovacic. The Spain midfielder continues to manage his fitness after a recent setback. A brief substitute appearance away at Bournemouth earlier this month was his only appearance since he was forced off at Brentford on 5 October.

"Rodri is making good steps," Guardiola said. "It's almost three weeks since the last step back. He knows that, he has to take the real time to recover mentally and physically with the problems that he's had, to be consistent from now until the end."