Manchester City will face relegation-threatened Newcastle United on Sunday, one of the few fixtures currently set to go ahead in the Premier League this weekend.
The Omicron strain of Covid-19 has seen a rapid increase of cases around the UK, and after a handful of matches being called off over the last week, including a Covid-19 outbreak at Manchester United, Man City are one of a few teams who have yet to been effected.
Pep Guardiola was unable to attend his press conference scheduled for Friday afternoon after returning an "inconclusive" lateral flow test, but there is no word as of yet of any Covid-19 cases with the City squad.
City had their biggest win of the season so far on Tuesday night when they put seven past Leeds United to remain at the top of the Premier league table.
Bernardo Silva was forced off in the 7-0 win with some muscle discomfort, and with Raheem Sterling and Gabriel Jesus both being unused subs against Leeds, it's unlikely the Portuguese international will be risked.
Guardiola's side are also boosted by the return of Joao Cancelo from suspension, and the full-back is expected to return to the starting XI on Sunday.
So, what line-up will Guardiola select? And, what could the final score be?
We used FIFA 22 to get a score prediction for Newcastle vs Man City on Sunday and this is what happened...
Newcastle vs Man City score predicted by simulation
We used kick-off mode in FIFA 22, but didn't select a team to control, we then selected the teams and watched the match play out by itself, to give us a score prediction.
We predict that Newcastle could set up in a 4-3-3 formation, with their line-up as follows: Dubravka; Manquillo, Schar, Lascelles, Ritchie; Willock, Shelvey, Hayden; Joelinton, Wilson, Almiron.
We predict that Man City could also set up in a 4-3-3 formation, with their line-up as follows: Ederson; Cancelo, Dias, Laporte, Zinchenko; De Bruyne, Rodri, Gundogan; Sterling, Foden, Grealish.
City looked to continue their incredible goal-scoring from as they took an early lead at St. James' Park through Raheem Sterling.
Some skilful dribbling through the Newcastle midfield saw Ilkay Gundogan skip past three players before threading Sterling through and goal, and despite the tight angle, Sterling found the top corner with a fantastic strike to put City ahead.
Guardiola's side then entered the half-time break at 2-0 up, with Joao Cancelo doubling the lead on his return to the starting XI.
Cancelo made a fantastic inverted run in-behind the Newcastle defence and was expertly found by Kevin De Bruyne, and after two touches to set himself up, the Portuguese defender blasted an effort across goal to make it two.
City had dominated the Magpies in the first half, but Newcastle came out fighting in the second and halved the deficit 10 minutes after the restart through Miguel Almiron.
City were quick to respond and grab a third though, with Phil Foden getting in on the act.
The Englishman used his low centre of gravity to ride a couple of challenges in the Newcastle midfield and bear down on goal, and after turning past Fabian Schar, Foden fired past the 'keeper art his near post to make it 3-1.
A wonderful long-range finish from Callum Wilson saw Newcastle pull a goal back with seconds remaining, but it was too little too late as City claimed another three points.
FIFA 22 predicted final score: Newcastle United 2-3 Manchester City
Here are the full-time match stats.
FIFA 22 predicts that despite a potentially close scoreline, City could win again at the weekend and remain at the top of the Premier League table, despite conceding a few to Eddie Howe's Newcastle side.
What do you think the final score will be? Let us know in the comments!
