Newcastle have Kalvin Phillips opportunity for Man City meeting

Manchester City take on Newcastle United on Saturday as they look to continue their recent form.

Pep Guardiola's side have won their last six games in all competitions to put themselves firmly back in the Premier League title race, while their opponents have slipped down the table as injuries have taken their toll on the squad. City have had injury issues of their own but while Erling Haaland remains a doubt for this fixture and Manu Akanji joined John Stones on the injured list last week, Kevin De Bruyne and Jeremy Doku both returned to action in the win over Huddersfield.

Here are some of the talking points ahead of City's trip to the north-east.

ALSO READ: 'Are they even happy with me?' Nathan Ake interview on what makes Man City so good

ALSO READ: Man City captains called player meeting to halt Premier League slump

Newcastle are one of the frontrunners to sign Kalvin Phillips in a window where he really needs to move if he wants more regular minutes before the European Championship, but the two clubs are not aligned on money. There has been plenty of noise out of the north-east this week, both about how much even a loan for Phillips would cost and more widely about how difficult their financial situation looks.

If a breakthrough over Phillips is to come, a meeting between executives on Saturday seems like a perfect opportunity for Newcastle's negotiators to charm their City counterparts and do their best to get a favourable deal while they are sat down in front of each other. However, Kyle Walker was widely expected to move to Bayern Munich after City played them in a friendly in summer but signed a new deal and became City captain instead!

Despite their recent struggles, Newcastle have still made St James' Park