Manchester City – Newcastle United

The visitors will offer serious resistance to the national champion

Manchester City last season was without a doubt the best football club on the continent, collecting three titles: two national and one of the most prestigious European titles. The Mancunians spent the off-season rather low-key, with the help of Josko Guardiola and Mateo Kovacic strengthening the centre of the pitch. The first official match of the football year, Guardiola's team played in the Super Cup of England, which according to the tradition of recent years lost. This time the offender of the Mancunians was Arsenal. In the opening round of the Premier League, Manchester City improved the mood with a 3-0 win over Burnley. On Wednesday, Guardiola's team made their first ever appearance in the UEFA Super Cup. Despite the fact that the class of the team exceeded the class of the Spanish opponent, Sevilla scored first and "lived" to the penalty shootout. Already in the penalty shootout Manchester City proved their advantage and took away from Greece another continental title and 5 million euros in prize money. The key advantage of Guardiola's team in the current season was the retained squad. Only Riyad Marez left the club for Saudi Arabia. Bookmakers have identified the home team as the favorites for the match, offering odds of 1.67 on their victory. After returning from the Championship six seasons ago, Newcastle have failed to finish higher than tenth in the Premier League for five years in a row. A change in ownership of the club a year and a half ago suggested rapid progress. However, instead of achieving it through the mass arrival of star players, the leadership of the "forty" made a bet on competent management and did not fail. Eddie Howe's invitation at the end of the championship before last led to an immediate move of the team forward and the fourth position at the end of last year's Premier League. In the off-season, Howe conducted a restrained transfer policy, reinforced by Tonali, Barnes and Livramento. Already in the opening match of the season, the first two mentioned newcomers scored goals, while Isak and Wilson completed the 5-1 rout of Aston Villa. The Magpies are definitely in tone and will not be the "whipping boy" in the meeting with the national champion tired after the UEFA Super Cup.