Newcastle vs. Manchester City: Newcastle's Woes Won't Stop vs. City

Heading into Saturday's match against Manchester City, Newcastle United has won once in its last 10 contests (all competitions).

It won't get any better for Newcastle at St. James Park.

Newcastle is currently in 14th place in the Premier League. The club hasn't been particularly impressive on either side of the ball, allowing 23 goals (ranked 12th) and scoring 18 goals (14th).

While City has won only one match in its past six contests (all competitions), it is a far superior squad than Newcastle. City is second in the Premier League this season, behind Manchester United, and has scored 30 goals (second-most).

They've done so with a collective effort, led by Carlos Tevez, who has notched a team-high seven goals and five assists in Premier League play. Twelve different City players have scored in EPL play this season, compared to five for Newcastle.

Beyond that, City has won the last five head-to-head meetings between the clubs, and Newcastle hasn't defeated City since September 2005. With an offense that has taken a turn for the worse (Newcastle ranked sixth in goals scored last season), it's hard to imagine the home team pulling off an upset on Saturday.

It gets worse, though. City is undefeated on the road this season and Alan Pardew will be without two key players in Hatem Ben Arfa and Yohan Cabaye. Newcastle is outmatched as it is, and now the club must do without two of its top stars.

City has been stumbling lately, enduring a crushing defeat at the hands of Manchester United on Dec. 9, but the club will get back to its winning ways against Newcastle. There is nothing to suggest that we'll see a shocker on Saturday at St. James Park.

For Newcastle, it will be yet another disappointing affair, with no end to the misery in sight.