Newcastle Utd - Manchester City 15.12.2012 12:45
Both teams enter this match after disappointing losses last round and in a great needed of the win. This Monday, the team of Newcastle failed to consolidate their victory over Wigan - the only victory in their last 10 games, losing in their visit against Fulham. Manchester City were rather unlucky in the match against United, which is no longer just the Manchester derby, but a direct confrontation for the title. City are 6 points behind from their rivals and the three points in this meeting are of great importance for them. Moreover, knowing that Manchester United have a relatively easy match this round. For Newcastle, however, a possible loss will mean that the team will be very close to the relegation zone as at the moment the team is only two points above the 18th place.
Manchester City have won the last five games against Newcastle and four of their last five visits to the Sports Direct Arena. Overall, the guests have 60% success rate in the last 12 years in the league against only 25% for Newcastle. From 2006 onwards, the hosts in this game do not have a single win in the league against this opponent. The statistics are more than eloquent and given the terrible performance of Newcastle so far, it may not be impaired.
However, there are some good news for Newcastle regarding the return to play of some key footballers. The main reason for the poor performance of the team so far is definitely the long list of injured players, all of which are very important for the team. Demba Ba, Ben Arfa, Tiote and Santon return to play for the hosts and with them a great deal of the team's offensive power. For the guests Kolarov and Micah Richards are injured and Gareth Barry is suspended. The captain Vincent Kompany is doubtful to play as he has a slight injury.
These two teams` performances are quite the opposite. Although the City players are not in top form, they are in the battle for the title and are unbeaten in their last 10 away games in the Premier League. For the hosts this season is too difficult. They constantly suffer from injuries and the results are at hand - Newcastle have lost 5 of their last 6 games. It will be very interesting to see if Newcastle will have the strength to resist the ambitious team of Manchester City.
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