Paullow

Gerrin, marra!

Troublemaker hits the post for Chelsea.

Pulisic and Sterling both substituted in the first 20 minutes. They lost Mount in training yesterday as well. They would have likely wanted to make changes for their FA Cup match at the Etithad on Sunday, but their hands may be more tied now.

Possibly in this instance, but I'd imagine there will be a few ambitious Newcastle fans out there who would prefer City to lose this evening.

Were between 40/1 and 50/1 to win the league. Chelsea are far more of a realistic threat for our aims and ambitions this season.

Come on City.

Yeah, I think this is probably the best move for him. Repeating al lot of what's already been said, but one of the closest UK cities to Newcastle (a fine one at that), so easier to pop back if/when required. 3 Aussie team mates already there, plus also an ex CMC teammate living in the city at Hibs. They still have to play 19 league matches, almost certainly going to be play Rangers and Celtic twice, and Hibs twice if he features in the cup, and maybe 3 times if Hibs can get their act together and finish in the top 6 (by the time of the 33 game cut off) - that's potentially 6 or 7 significant games with an edge, plus perhaps a generally more relaxed atmosphere in that, realistically, they are not going to finish top 2, and shouldn't really finish below 3rd, or 4th at a push, which could be a nice mix of certain big games, but generally a bit less pressure in the other matches to perhaps allow him to flourish more. Just seen that they might have to play St Mirren 4 times in the league They are in decent form as well (11 points from 5, only one defeat in 8, to Rangers), so will probably be walking into a positive dressing room and stadium. Easy to forget that when he returns he'll still just be 18, and if it was extended by a further 12 months and a potential European campaign for him, he'd still be a teenager when he came back.

Mind, it's lovely to be in a position of watching a big televised match between two top sides who have had a lot of success these past 15-20 years and actually wondering what outcome is best for Newcastle United. We've obviously had this before in the Keegan and Robson PL years, but pretty much never for 20 years, bar that one Parted season at an absolute push.

Definitely not Chelsea winning. I think Man City winning is best for Newcastle, as their results won't really impact Newcastle finishing in the top 4, or even top 6, whereas Chelsea's will a lot more. It would be nice visually to be still in touch with City at this stage, so a draw would be OK, and it would also keep the title race with Arsenal more interesting, but realistically, we're not going to finish above them, whereas we absolutely can finish above Chelsea, and we certainly don't want them getting a shock result this evening to potentially be the catalyst to getting something going. I'd probably want Arsenal to win the league, so a draw would help more there, but from a pure Newcastle perspective, the more favourable outcome surely has to be a Man City win.

Are you hoping for a Man City win tomorrow (away at Chelsea) or a draw? The former for me.

Huge chance, obviously, but maybe not quite as bad as I was expecting. Defender might have got back had it have been on target as well.

Disappointing. Didn't see that coming the way that 1st half ended, and even the very start of the second half. Hard to see a way back for them now mind.

You have to fear for Southampton if they lose arguably their easiest fixture of the season on paper. It would be a 6th defeat on the spin, and only 5 points from their last 13 games - they've been on a downward spiral for a long time now. Early days I guess, but doesn't look like any signs of a 'manager bounce'

Leicester match 3 days later far more important IMO. 7 or 8 changes and hope it's enough to get the job done. Leicester have Gillingham who are bottom of the 4th tier and only scored 7 goals in their 23 league matches this season , so they'll no doubt be making wholesale changes for that.

Almost shaking typing. So proud of that, what a TEAM. It does feel like a win.

Anyone else absolutely shit themselves when the commentator said 'they're not going to like the outcome'?

4 mins injury time if they score now, 11 if they don't...

I wouldn't know Omega's tune, but the Arsenal man does love a good wrestling tune at half time, ha.

Think that's a bit harsh on Arsenal. Maybe an age thing, and that they have enjoyed a lot of success in my time, unlike say Everton, but I've always considered Arsenal to just be behind Man Utd and Liverpool, and definitely part of the 3 biggest traditional English clubs.

The social media thing obviously isn't for everyone and can quickly be dismissed, but I've often wondered why Newcastle's following is so low, relatively. Newcastle's IG followers have increased from 724k pre takeover to 1.3m today, and Twitter from 1.7m to 2.4m, and both will likely continue to increase the better we do, but in terms of IG numbers, West Ham are on 2.3m, Wolves are on 2.1m, Palace 1.5m, Southampton 1.2m. Leicester being on far more (7.1m) is somewhat understandable given they won the league and FA Cup in recent years, plus will likely have had a sizable increase from Thailand since their takeover. I guess it highlights the massive lack of commercial activity and progression during the Ashley reign, and general fan apathy at the time, but I still thought we'd have significantly more followers than say Palace or Southampton who have largely been operating in the bottom half with no European football.

Danny Cowley sacked by Portsmouth. No surprise really, started well, 6 wins and 2 draws from their first 8 matches, but since then only 1 win from 14, and none of their last 9. He hasn't had the managerial career some were expecting during his time at Lincoln, although still young at 44.

Klopp

Might be VAR'd again here

The kids commentary is horrific mind. I have occasionally changed channels just for the sheer curiosity, but not sure why anyone, who had access to both, would actually want to listen to that