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Monday 19 August 2013

MATCH PREVIEW: MANCHESTER CITY V NEWCASTLE

Manuel Pellegrini takes charge of Manchester City for the first time in Premier League action at home to Newcastle United on Monday night.

Pellegrini says he and his summer signings have no time to settle into their new milieu and wants a fast start when they kick-off the new campaign against the Magpies at the Etihad Stadium.

The Chilean replaced Roberto Mancini in June and has spent nearly £90million to bring in Fernandinho,
Stevan Jovetic, Jesus Navas and Alvaro Negredo.

The 59-year-old is hopeful those arrivals can give City the added firepower required to snatch the title
back from rivals Manchester United, who opened their campaign with a 4-1 thumping of Swansea on Saturday.

Chelsea and Tottenham also opened their seasons with three points 24 hours later, meaning City will be desperate to follow suit on Monday.
Newcastle boss Alan Pardew will be hoping for a much improved campaign after briefly flirting with relegation last season.

The Magpies struggled to cope with the added rigours of European football and their eventual 16th place finish was a huge disappointment after ending
in fifth the year before.

The summer saw the surprise return of Joe Kinnear as director of football, a move that raised eyebrows among the fans who still remember the 66-year-old's ill-fated first spell in charge in 2008/09, a season that eventually saw the club relegated.

Kinnear's attempts to bolster the squad have so far been met with frustration, with the loan signing of
QPR forward Loic Remy the only major arrival so far.

Despite the lack of new faces Pardew has been quick to play down talk of a rift between him and the former Wimbledon boss and insists that sprits
are high going into the campaign.

Summer signings Fernandinho, Jesus
Navas, Alvaro Negredo and Stevan Jovetic could all be handed full debuts by Pellegrini.

Argentina striker Sergio Aguero is also fit to start after overcoming a knee injury.

Defender Matija Nastasic is still sidelined with an ankle injury picked up at the Barclays Asia Trophy in Hong Kong last month.

Newcastle
Newcastle's new loan signing Remy will miss out on his Newcastle debut due to a persistent calf injury.

Toon boss Pardew has confirmed the striker has been battling the complaint throughout pre-season and may not be fit for another month.

Jonas Gutierrez should be okay to play after making good progress following a hamstring injury. Steven Taylor and Davide Santon are both doubts with toe and hip injuries respectively.

Kick-off Time: 8pm
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