Manchester City

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has been speaking to the media before Saturday's Premier League game against Newcastle at Etihad Stadium (20:00 GMT).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Guardiola nodded when asked if Erling Haaland is "fully fit" for the visit of the Magpies and confirmed Savinho is "ready" while Jeremy Doku is "not ready" for the game.

• On the Premier League title race: "I didn't speak one second about that with my players. Yesterday and the day before, it's just Newcastle, Newcastle and Newcastle. I didn't talk about the table, I didn't talk about our position. I could not care less! It's 12 games [remaining]. It's 12 games, it's an eternity. Many things are going to happen. That's the only truth I have."

• On the gap to Arsenal: "They were nine points when we had a game in hand, so whenever everybody is on the same fixtures and games being played then after we will see the difference. Many things going to happen. I said weeks ago. Many thing are going to happen until the end of the season."

• Do his players have extra experience over Mikel Arteta's side in the title race?: "Seventy per cent of the players are new, so they don't have the experience to live these kinds of situations. An experience is to win tomorrow. It is only one."

• Guardiola was asked about the incident of alleged racist abuse targeted at Vinicius Junior: "Not for where you are born or your colour of skin makes you better or worse. There's a lot of work to do; it's in society, it's not just in football. Racism is everywhere and if you pretend racism is just for the colour of skin, it's how you behave - that's racism. It's how you pretend you are better than others just for many reasons."

• He was asked about legendary former Newcastle manager Sir Bobby Robson, who he played under for a season at Barcelona: "What a man! I was fortunate and lucky to have him in Barcelona one season. Truly a gentleman - it was a huge honour. His impact in football, not just in the team he's trained, really good."

• Guardiola responded to Wayne Rooney's comments saying he hopes the Spaniard stays beyond this season: "A huge honour! When compliments come from football players or players involved in the game, and Wayne - what a player! I think in world football, in this country, there are thousands, millions of huge personalities that make the sport better and Wayne has been one of them."

Hit play above to hear more from Guardiola or listen on BBC Sounds here

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Manchester City's current state and Pep Guardiola's future formed the focus in this week's episode of The Wayne Rooney Show.

Former Manchester United striker Rooney said: "I think he will be there next year. I think whatever happens, whether they win the league, I think he's brought a lot of players in over the last year so I think he'll want to try and bring them on. If they don't win the league I think his ego will say to him 'I can't finish with not winning the league or anything', depending on the Champions League.

"Some players will want him to leave, it depends on if you're in the team or not. That's the same with any manager. I hope he stays. I think for the Premier League he's brilliant. You want the best managers in the Premier League and he's set a benchmark."

Former Manchester City midfielder Michael Brown offered his take: "I feel if the right replacement that the club feels is going to be able to take over - I don't think anyone wants to take over from him - if the right person is here now, I think it's done and he'll leave at the end of the season. I hope he carries on and does another year but who is the next person? If that is not right I think he has an understanding with the club and might need to do another year."

Watch The Wayne Rooney Show on BBC iPlayer or listen on BBC Sounds

Paris St‑Germain have enquired about Norway striker Erling Haaland's long‑term situation at Manchester City, although the 25-year-old's most likely destination is Spain, if he chooses to move. (Teamtalk), external

Barcelona and Atletico Madrid are interested in Portugal midfielder Bernardo Silva, whose Manchester City contract expires this summer, while Juventus and Monaco are also looking at the 31-year-old. (Teamtalk), external

Manchester City's English goalkeeper James Trafford, 23, is prioritising a move to Aston Villa over Newcastle United this summer. (Football Insider), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Friday's full gossip column

Follow the gossip column on BBC Sport

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We asked for views from fans both of both Arsenal and Manchester City on the title race after the Gunners drew at Wolves on Wednesday night.

Here are some of your comments:

Arsenal fans

Jordan: Last night was gutting and no excuses for dropping points from two goals up. However, this isn't the season where slip-ups and shut-outs won't happen. I feel everyone is downplaying the difficulty of the league this year. All the big sides have had rough patches when trying to break down low blocks and counters away from home. For Arsenal, nothing changes - we have the best squad, we're five points ahead. Watch to see if City go on without dropping more points than us going forward. Still backing the boys.

Sean: Firstly, they need to give the captaincy to Declan Rice, he is a born leader, central midfield model like Adams, O'Leary and Vieira. Saka isn't a captain. Doing this would free up the others to play the free-flowing football that should be happening. If the manager can't see this, then he needs to go, if we don't win the league this year he has to go, he's had enough chances. It's down to him to fix it, quickly, especially as the game on Sunday is crucial, if we lose or draw, then Arteta seriously has to look at himself and his coaches. This really isn't good enough or acceptable.

Jon: I just think we have lost all momentum. It was disappointing to draw with Wolves but watching the game there wasn't one player that had a good game. Individual mistakes are creeping into the games, which can't be afforded at this stage of the season. I think the title will be decided in the game at Man City.

Mariano: Fully behind the boys. City had to rip their first PL title from Man Utd dominance on the very last minute of the entire season. This is the path we will have to be prepared for as well.

Ali: We are all now collectively "bricking it", as the ghosts of seasons past come to haunt our dreams of a long-awaited Premier League title. The bottle job "banter" from friends is becoming almost unbearable and while we should be strutting into this weekend's fixture against our biggest foe hoping to kick them one step closer to relegation, we find ourselves feeling nervous, nay petrified, that they will further derail our hopes of finishing top.

Richard: Arsenal win a game? "Best squad, best defence, they're obviously winning the league." Draw or lose? "Bottle jobs, it's City's title." Realistically, anything can happen, there'll be more points dropped by both teams and until it's mathematically decided, nobody knows how it'll play out.

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City fans

Harry: The position we are in is all too familiar, but our team and style is not. We're somewhere between possession-ball and all-out attack at the moment. We are missing our leaders of seasons past and I am yet to be 100% certain they're being replaced. Silva, Dias, Stones, Rodri and even Haaland are going to be pivotal. Belief is what we need and even if we play perfect, Arsenal have to lose at the Etihad. I believe in the lads, Semenyo and Guehi have slotted in seamlessly and Pep is still the man to guide them. I'm cautious, but optimistic. With the quality we are still to face, it may be in our favour, but it's not in our hands yet.

Anthony: There's still a long way to go, I won't feel comfortable until City are actually ahead on points. You can't write any team off but at this point it feels like the City v Arsenal game is going to go a long way to deciding if the Premier League trophy has a holiday in London or is coming back to the home of the trophy - Manchester.

Stephen: City are most likely to finish second, I know, but, while there is a chance of taking top spot, Pep's prodigious charges will never give up the fight. We ain't doing bad for a team in the middle of a major rebuild.

David: A definite sense of the momentum shifting as the usual Arsenal stutter commences. It's a long way to go and we will still drop points but the next three games look winnable and there will be huge pressure on them to beat Spurs now.

George: City have been offered a real chance here, but I won't get excited unless we beat Arsenal at the Etihad. I think Arsenal have the stronger squad on balance. We still have injuries to contend with and key players not in their best form. What we needed to do is be there if they slip up and we need to punish them for it!

John: I am a City fan but won't say anything until after the Newcastle game on Saturday. So far we haven't been consistent enough to close the gap despite Arsenal regularly dropping points since Xmas. The Geordies won easily 6-1 this week and not too many teams lose the next match after a performance like that, but we have to take this opportunity to have a chance.

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So, Wednesday's draw at rock-bottom Wolves and suddenly the same questions over Arsenal's mentality and "bottle" are being asked again.

The Gunners have won just two of their past seven Premier League games and have seen their lead reduced to five points, with Manchester City having a game in hand and the prospect of a meeting between the two sides as Etihad Stadium in April after they face each other in March's Carabao Cup final.

While there is still a lead, Arsenal's tally of 58 points is the fewest any Premier League leaders have had after 27 games since Leicester City in 2015–16 (56).

So how is City's title bid shaping up?

Well, Pep Guardiola's side have themselves won just three of their past eight league games, but those have come in their past four games. Two wins from two while Arsenal have drawn twice means gaining significant ground on the Gunners.

Despite recent inconsistency, Mikel Arteta's side remain heavy favourites with Opta's Supercomputer.

Only 12 days ago, Arsenal's chance of winning the league was at 93.38% after they beat Sunderland 3-0 and moved a commanding nine points clear of City before their game against Liverpool the next day.

After back-to-back wins for City and consecutive draws for Arsenal, the likelihood that the Gunners do get over the line has dropped to 79.69% - still comfortably dwarfing City's 17.26%.

So, with 11 games to play, and in the familiar position of breathing down the leaders' neck, we want to know how you feel with the current state of play.

Confident? Nervous? And how does your team make sure they get over the line?

Get in touch with your views here

Pat Nevin
Former footballer and presenter

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Manchester City weren't grabbing the headlines this weekend as they eased past neighbours Salford in the FA Cup. Unsurprisingly, Pep Guardiola put out a changed side, resting as many players as he could. One player rested but later introduced was Marc Guehi and watching him in a City strip now feels like watching a player who has been in the team for five years.

‌An England international centre-back, experienced Premier League performer, only 25 years old so coming into his prime right now and he cost a bargain £20m, maybe a quarter or a fifth of his true value in the open market. Even so, I reckon people do not see how important a signing he is.

‌This is a player Liverpool and Chelsea would love to have tempted but he has ended up at the Etihad and it looks like a very good decision for all concerned.

‌He scored the goal that put the tie to bed but, more than that, he brings a calm to a defence that had previously looked just a little shaky when under pressure.

‌Is it enough to turn City into serial clean sheet specialists right away? Maybe not, but a tighter defence will be necessary if they are going to catch Arsenal and their mean back line. It could be the most effective signing of the season.

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Freddie Pye
Fan writer

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Often when we talk about teams capable of going all the way in multiple competitions, we see squads with depth in all areas, a remarkable fitness and injury record, or a strong style of play.

Usually, it's a combination of all three factors, and Manchester City supporters have been fortunate enough to see that come to fruition in several of Pep Guardiola's previous successful seasons at the club.

Following progression into the FA Cup fifth round, where City now face Newcastle away - the fifth meeting between the two clubs this season when the contest comes around in March - the debate continues to burn on regarding just how far Guardiola's side can go during the final months of the campaign.

The manager will perhaps be most confident of success. Key players are returning to full fitness, there appears to be a playing style and rhythm that is coming together, and confidence within the squad is flowing to an extent that perhaps we haven't seen so far this campaign.

How much of that can be credited to the dramatic comeback win over Liverpool? Probably the majority.

The additions of Marc Guehi and Antoine Semenyo have brought much-needed options, adding rearguard stability and guidance as well as versatility in an attacking line that had been somewhat faltering by the turn of the year.

In the case of the Ghanaian, much of the dependency on Erling Haaland for goalmouth action has shifted for the better, enabling rest for the Norwegian and allowing for the likes of Omar Marmoush to find opportunities to great reward.

And all of these factors come without mentioning the tactical shift deployed by Guardiola and his coaching team, as Manchester City operate with a box or diamond midfield, enabling Nico O'Reilly to step into a number six or number eight role and allowing a starting role for summer recruit Rayan Ait-Nouri.

There is a physicality to City's midfield and an energy that was not only missing throughout the whole of last season, but perhaps was required as recently as January, when matches were running away from the side in second halves in particular.

Is it too early to say Guardiola has sussed out the magic formula to go on and win everything?

Absolutely. But there are clear signs of a team in confident mood, one reaping the rewards of their early qualification for the Champions League knockout rounds with three days off this week, and one with eyes firmly set on Arsenal at the Premier League's summit.

Find more from Freddie Pye at City Xtra, external

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When ball number 14 was drawn, fans couldn't believe it - the FA Cup fifth-round draw set up Newcastle and Manchester City to meet in yet another cup tie.

It's the fifth time in six years the teams have faced up in a domestic cup - most recently, City bested Newcastle over two legs to deny the Magpies a place in the final of the Carabao Cup.

In March, the teams will meet again at St James' Park for a place in the quarter-finals of the oldest cup competition in the world.

So, what do fans make of the draw? Yawn-worthy, or the chance for a dramatic rematch?

Let's hear what our fan writers think...

Charlotte Robson of the True Faith: Newcastle United Podcast, external

We joked in all our group chats that, after comprehensively beating Aston Villa we'd end up with Manchester City away in the FA Cup. It was just supposed to be a joke, not a premonition! I rang my dad's house just after the draw was announced and heard wailing in the background. Here we go again!

OK, we drew them at home, so there's a small concession made. But honestly. How many times can two teams play each other in one season? At this rate, I am pretty sure the footballing powers that be will have invented a new way for us to play them at least a couple more times before the season is out.

I know that to win silverware you have to beat the best. I know that. Those of us in the chat with fistfuls of straws can point to November, when a Harvey Barnes double saw us beat City at St James' Park. Those more pessimistic might point to the other two times we've played them so far this season, and the ease with which they dealt with us.

This weekend we visit the Etihad, for what seems to be our now bi-monthly Manchester City match. Let's spin this. Saturday represents another opportunity for Eddie Howe to assess how they are so effective, and to start making a plan.

I keep coming back to the fact it's a home tie. St James' Park will be LOUD. The players will be up for it.

It's the FA Cup - anything could happen.

Emily Brobyn is a regular on BBC Radio Manchester - find all their Man City audio here

"I'm sick of the sight of them," was my reaction when Joe Cole and Karen Carney paired Manchester City with Newcastle.

Don't get me wrong, St James' Park is one of my favourite away days. Despite the infamous 14 flights of stairs, Newcastle is a city that is completely and utterly obsessed with football.

It's all most of their residents talk about as they're walking around the city. It's always a cracking away trip. The draw will be the talk of the toon – but I'm not so sure they'll be too happy about it either.

But despite having just been beaten by Pep Guardiola's men in the Carabao Cup semi-final, in both legs and by an aggregate score of 5-1, Newcastle will be buoyed by the fact this tie will have home advantage.

Eddie Howe has never won a game with Newcastle at Etihad Stadium. The stats make for dismal reading. But the Magpies beat City in the league back in November - 2-1 on home turf - and St James' will be rocking, with Howe looking to seek revenge for the battering his side so recently took in the League Cup.

Make no mistake, it could have been a tougher draw for City, but I doubt Pep will be relishing the prospect of travelling up to Tyneside for the third time in five months.

The Blues have the quality to come away with a place in the FA Cup quarter finals, but there's a feeling Newcastle won't be ready to accept being knocked out of two domestic cups in consecutive months at the hands of City.

Which probably makes the game even more of a tantalising prospect – for the neutral at least!

Emily Brobyn is a regular on BBC Radio Manchester - find all their Man City audio here

Manchester City would prefer to send goalkeeper James Trafford out on loan rather then sell him this summer, with Leeds, Aston Villa and Newcastle all interested in the 23-year-old. (Teamtalk), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Tuesday's full gossip column

Follow the gossip column on BBC Sport

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The draw for the FA Cup fifth round has been made. Here is a list of all the ties in the order they were drawn.

• Fulham v Southampton

• Port Vale or Bristol City v Sunderland

• Newcastle United v Manchester City

• Leeds United v Norwich City

• Mansfield Town v Arsenal

• Wolverhampton Wanderers v Liverpool

• Wrexham v Chelsea

• West Ham v Macclesfield or Brentford

The matches will be played over the weekend of 7 March.

Watch all the highlights and best video from this season's FA Cup