Manchester City can cut the gap to Arsenal to two points with a win over Newcastle in the Premier League this weekend.
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - JANUARY 17: Erling Haaland of Manchester City speaks with Abdukodir Khusanov of Manchester City during the Premier League match between Manchester United and Manchester City at Old Trafford on January 17, 2026 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Copa/Getty Images)
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - JANUARY 17: Erling Haaland of Manchester City speaks with Abdukodir Khusanov of Manchester City during the Premier League match between Manchester United and Manchester City at Old Trafford on January 17, 2026 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Copa/Getty Images)
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Manchester City will welcome back three players to their squad for the Newcastle game as they look to gain further ground on Arsenal. The league leaders threw away a two-goal lead at Wolves in midweek to mean Pep Guardiola can close the gap to two points this weekend.
Erling Haaland will return after sitting out the FA Cup win over Salford following his half-time substitution against Fulham. The Norwegian has trained this week and will be fit to feature against Eddie Howe's side.
Savinho will also step back in for the first time since New Year's Day. The Brazilian had to be taken off in the draw with Sunderland at the beginning of 2026 but has worked his way back from injury and is in contention to start against Newcastle.
Saturday's game will come too soon for Jeremy Doku, even though the Belgian is closing in on his return from injury. He joins Mateo Kovacic and Josko Gvardiol on the sidelines, although Bernardo Silva is fine after missing the Salford game with a minor issue.
City have also had the unusual advantage of more rest than their opponents ahead of Saturday's game. The Blues have had a rare midweek off, while Newcastle had to go to Baku to play in the Champions League on Wednesday night.
"The important thing is that players are revitalised after a lot of months with few days off. I don't have to run one metre, so for me it's not a problem. It's the players and the players it's really good to have long weeks to rest and they trained good the last two days."
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