Howe Deserves Opportunity To Push Newcastle Forward, Ferdinand Says

Add as a preferred source on Google

Newcastle United visit Manchester City in the Premier League with renewed belief after three straight away wins in three different competitions, including a 6-1 Champions League victory over Qarabag that leaves Eddie Howe’s team 10th domestically and in a strong position to reach the last 16 in Europe.

That recent upturn followed a poor start to 2026, when Newcastle lost four of five matches across competitions through the end of January and early February, raising questions about Howe’s future and whether this squad had stalled after previous progress under the current head coach.

Les Ferdinand feels those doubts are premature, especially with Saturday’s match at the Etihad Stadium coming so soon after Manchester City knocked Newcastle out of the EFL Cup semi-finals with 2-0 and 3-1 wins, underlining how demanding this latest league fixture will be for Howe’s group.

Ferdinand told Stats Perform: "I think it's a bit unfair to say at this moment in time. They made some signings in the summer that haven't quite hit the ground running. But typically with Eddie's signings, they take a little while to adjust to the way he does things and the way the team do things. Perhaps we haven't seen the best of the players that he's brought into the club, function and so on. Listen, I think we're in an era now, if a manager's had three games without a win and everyone thinks we should be changing and things are going wrong. Eddie's done an absolutely phenomenal job at Newcastle and deserves the opportunity."

The 6-1 success against Qarabag in midweek showcased that potential, with Newcastle generating 5.4 expected goals, a Champions League figure beaten this season only by Liverpool’s 5.9 in another match against Qarabag, underlining how dominant Howe’s side were over the full 90 minutes.

Anthony Gordon scored four times in that Champions League tie and twice from the spot, though the second penalty brought a heated exchange with Kieran Trippier over who should take it, as team-mates intervened before Gordon eventually converted from 12 yards again.

Gordon explained the situation to TNT Sports, saying: "I understand everyone's opinion, we're a team and we should be in it together. We all want to succeed. But I'm the penalty taker and I want to score as many goals as I can, Gordon told TNT Sports. Emotions do get high, but he's one of my closest team-mateshe'sdone so much for me."

The forward’s performance in Baku carried wider historical weight as Gordon became only the second English player to reach double figures in a single Champions League campaign, following Harry Kane’s 11 goals for Bayern Munich in 2024-25, while also setting a new mark for the fastest hat-trick by any English player, and by any player representing an English club, in the competition’s history.

Gordon reflected on those milestones by saying: "Records are nice, but I just want to win games, he added.We've won the game convincingly and I'd say it was our best performance of the season. I'm so proud of everyone. Football'sa highly emotional game, and so ficklepeople get so high and so low on you, depending on your form. To go from what we went through to a position where we are now, it's really important. We've got to keep it going, keep the momentum, because it can go the other way really fast."

Manchester City vs Newcastle United, Premier League players to watch

Attention now shifts to key individuals for the Premier League meeting, with Manchester City midfielder Phil Foden approaching a major personal landmark and Newcastle winger Harvey Barnes aiming to repeat decisive contributions from the reverse fixture earlier in the season.

Foden assisted Erling Haaland’s goal against Fulham and now has 68 Premier League goals plus 31 assists, taking the total to 99 goal involvements, meaning the England international could become the sixth Manchester City player to reach 100 in the competition and, at 25 years and 269 days, the second-youngest to that figure for the club behind Haaland, who did so at 24 years and 237 days.

On the Newcastle side, Barnes scored both goals in the 2-1 win over Manchester City at St. James’ Park earlier in the campaign, and no Newcastle player has scored home and away against City in the same league season since Alan Shearer managed the feat during the 2004-05 campaign.

Manchester City vs Newcastle United, Premier League prediction and data

Historical trends at the Etihad Stadium strongly favour Manchester City, who are unbeaten in 21 Premier League home games against Newcastle, winning the last 16 of those matches, while no club has enjoyed a longer such home winning run in the English top flight other than Everton, who recorded 22 straight home victories over Fulham between 1961 and 2018.

City’s defensive record in this fixture has also been notable, with six successive Premier League home wins over Newcastle without conceding, a streak bettered for the club in top-flight history only by a seven-match home run to nil against Stoke City between 1982 and 2014 across different eras.

Newcastle still chase a landmark of their own, seeking a first league double over Manchester City since the 1983-84 season in the second tier and a first in the top flight since 1955-56, having already won the home meeting but falling short in both legs of the 2025-26 EFL Cup semi-final.

Opta’s win probability model reflects City’s strong statistical position for Saturday, giving Manchester City a 58.3 per cent chance of victory, rating the draw at 21.7 per cent and Newcastle’s prospects of an away win at 20 per cent, as Howe’s resurgent side look to carry Champions League momentum into a difficult domestic challenge.