Newcastle United Bruno Guimaraes concern & £260m Man City problem as transfer target spotted at St James' Park

Newcastle United suffered another late defeat against Manchester City at St James' Park on Saturday evening - here are five talking points from the match.

Newcastle United make one change made as Tino Livramento & Joelinton drop out

There were no real surprises in Eddie Howe's starting line-up against the Premier League champions. Joelinton dropped out of the side after picking up a thigh injury that will keep him out for at least six weeks during the 3-0 FA Cup win over Sunderland.

Lewis Miley came back into the starting line-up in his place while Tino Livramento, who made his debut and first start for Newcastle against Manchester City, dropped out of the squad due to illness.

The injuries left Howe with two goalkeepers, three teenagers and Jamaal Lascelles, Emil Krafth, Matt Ritchie and Paul Dummett on the bench - giving the Magpies boss limited options to change the game from the bench.

But more on that later.

Bruno Guimaraes ban concern

As things stand, Newcastle currently have just three recognised and available central midfielders in their first-team squad, one of them being 17-year-old Miley - Longstaff and Bruno Guimaraes the other two.

Joelinton has been ruled out for the next six weeks while there are no clear return dates for Elliot Anderson or Joe Willock and Sandro Tonali won't play again this season. It leaves Howe short of options with 21-year-old Joe White set to return from his loan spell from Crewe Alexandra in League Two just to give Newcastle another body without having to dip into the transfer market.

Despite having yet to make his debut for Newcastle, White could end up getting on the pitch for The Magpies in the coming weeks with Guimaraes walking a disciplinary tightrope. The Brazilian was booked for a foul on Man City midfielder Mateo Kovacic in the 21st minute of the match in what was his ninth yellow card in the league this season.

It leaves Guimaraes just one booking away from a two-match ban for The Magpies. He must now go 11 league matches without a yellow card to avoid a two-match ban.

“The last thing we need," Howe said afterwards. "To be honest at this moment in time is to lose anyone through suspension, but well have to cross that bridge when it comes."

Hope for Newcastle United despite sixth defeat in seven

It wasn't a good afternoon for Newcastle in many ways, it was the first time they had suffered consecutive defeats at St James' Park under Howe. It's a fourth straight league defeat and sixth in the last seven, leaving Newcastle sitting 10th in the table ahead of a daunting trip to Aston Villa at the end of the month.

While Newcastle's performance levels most certainly dropped against the likes of Nottingham Forest, Luton Town and Liverpool, they at least offered something more against an excellent Manchester City side.

A first half of real quality from both sides saw Newcastle put the visitors under pressure from the start, finding the net through Sean Longstaff only for the offside flag to rule the goal out. The disallowed goal still took its toll on City goalkeeper Ederson as he was forced off shortly after and replaced by Stefan Ortega.

Bernardo Silva gave Manchester City the lead midway through the first half with a classy backheel into the bottom left corner from Kyle Walker's cross. A fine goal from City, but Newcastle would soon draw things level in real style 10 minutes before half-time.

Fabian Schar, who had a Wor Flags display in tribute to him ahead of the game, showed 'everyone needs a Fabian Schar' by winning back possession brilliantly and calmly picking out Bruno Guimaraes who lofted a perfectly weighted long ball over for Alexander Isak.

Isak was up against Walker but managed to shift the ball into just enough space to get a shot away and find the right side of the goal. A stunning finish and one of Newcastle's best team goals seen at St James' Park this season.

Two minutes later, Newcastle turned things around completely with Dan Burn releasing Anthony Gordon who almost mimicked Isak against Walker and curled the ball into the net once again. It was the 22-year-old's seventh goal of the season so far and Isak's 14th.

And with that Newcastle deserved their half-time lead in what was a real return to form in terms of the performance levels from Howe's side. The intensity and aggression that there were shades of against Sunderland had well and truly returned against the world champions.

Howe felt his players would benefit from a first full uninterrupted week on the training pitch in months and that was most certainly the case in the first half.

Manchester City's £260m options make the difference

The second half saw Man City apply sustained pressure in an attempt to get back into the game. They pegged Newcastle back into their own half but the hosts were standing firm, until...

Pep Guardiola turned to his bench to introduce Kevin De Bruyne for his first Premier League outing since the opening day of the season as he marked his return from injury. The talismanic Belgian shook off any rustiness he may have had from a five-month absence by hitting a free-kick off the wall with his first touch.

But he would make no mistake soon after as his edge-of-the-box strike darted into the bottom left corner to draw City level with 16 minutes remaining. Newcastle offered a small reaction to City's equaliser and started to play the ball out more but were undone once again in stoppage time as De Bruyne picked out fellow substitute Oscar Bobb, who beat Kieran Trippier to the ball and showed good footwork to take it past Martin Dubravka to make it 3-2 to the visitors.

The substitutions are the crux of where this game was won for Man City and lost for Newcastle. Ultimately City had a bench worth in excess of £260million with £100million Jack Grealish and £42million Kalvin Phillips remaining as unused substitutes. Phillips has been heavily linked with a loan move to Newcastle this January and was spotted chatting to Jamaal Lascelles whilst warming-up before celebrating City's late win on the pitch at full-time.

Guardiola's luxury to bring on a player like De Bruyne and the fresh legs of Bobb helped them win the game while Howe turned to a bench where Matt Ritchie was the most expensive player on it. Loanee Lewis Hall, who Newcastle are set to pay £28million for at the end of the season, was Newcastle's only substitution in the match as he replaced Gordon after 86 minutes.

Newcastle are still a very good and intense side for around an hour in matches, often fading towards the end of games without meaningful substitutions to bring on. The impact of the likes of Gordon and Isak often fade while Bruno Guimaraes even gestured to Howe about coming off before playing on until the end.

More late misery for Newcastle United

Newcastle were two minutes away from what would have been a well-earned point for the second season running against Man City at St James' Park. But there was a real sense of deja vu when Bobb found a stoppage-time winner for the visitors.

It was the 40th goal the Magpies had conceded this season, more than they conceded throughout the whole of the previous campaign. It was also the 18th goal they had let in within the final 20 minutes of matches this season, with five of those coming after the 90-minute mark.

Where Newcastle were able to remain resilient and see out matches last season, that has disappeared this season where lapses of concentration, individual mistakes and a lack of fresh options from the bench taking their toll.