Newcastle United vs. Manchester City: Date, Time, Live Stream, TV Info and More

What a difference a year makes.

At this time last season, we found both Manchester City and Newcastle United in the top half of the Premier League table, with the Blues leading the way and the Magpies sitting in seventh position.

A year later, the Blues sit in second position, trailing the leaders, Manchester United, by six points. The Magpies find themselves in 14th position with only 17 points, two points ahead of relegation.

With both teams in desperate need of points, Saturday's action promises to be an epic matchup between two desperate clubs.

Here's everything you need to know about this crucial Premier League match.

Where: St. James Park, Newcastle

When: Saturday, December 15 at 7:45 a.m. ET

Watch: ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes

Live Stream: ESPN3

What They're Saying

Newcastle defender Danny Simpson is confident in his side's chances of pulling off the upset, as he told Lee Ryder of the Evening Chronicle:

"

We have only beaten Tottenham at home and we are due to upset one of the big teams. So let’s do it against Man City.

What we have got in our group – we believe in ourselves, in the manager, staff and fans. We just have to keep doing what we are doing and we will pick up points.

City must come to our patch. They will be disappointed (after the derby defeat) but at the same time they will want to bounce back.

We have nothing to lose, so we just need to give them a tough game.

"

It's good to be confident, and Simpson is right: The Magpies have nothing to lose.

But it's going to take more than confidence to get the better of a talented Blues squad on Saturday.

Key Player to Watch: Yaya Toure, Manchester City

According to the Daily Telegraph, Newcastle is getting midfielder Cheick Tiote back into action for this match.

That makes Yaya Toure even more important to this match for the Blues than before.

When the two sides met back in May, it was Yaya who scored the game-winning goal. But more importantly, he controlled the middle of the pitch for the Blues.

He'll need to win those battles as well, using his quick footwork to facilitate scoring chances while taking away passing lanes and causing havoc for the Magpies trying to move the ball up the pitch.

Prediction

City has yet to win in December, but the Blues sit with the second highest goal differential in the Premier League at plus-16.

Newcastle has won only one match in its past seven Premier league tiffs and has struggled to score, sitting with a minus-five goal differential on the season.

With neither team playing near top form, I'm going with the Blues to get back on track in this one.

Manchester City 3, Newcastle United 1