Newcastle 0 - 1 Man City: Another win for City
Newcastle have picked up just three points from their last 57 available in the Premier League against Manchester City (W0 D3 L16), though their draw last time out ended a run of 12 consecutive defeats against them.
If Manchester City avoid defeat, they’ll set a new club record of 20 unbeaten league games against a specific opponent (also went 19 unbeaten vs Barnsley between 1898 and 1987).
Only Manchester United (13 against Wigan) have ever had a longer winning run against the same opponent than Manchester City’s recent run of 12 vs Newcastle.
This is the fifth time in top-flight history that Manchester City have been top on Christmas Day (1903-04, 1912-13, 1929-30 & 2011-12) but the previous four occasions have seen them go on to win the title just once (2011-12).
Manchester City have scored 101 Premier League goals in 2017 so far – the last time that a team scored more in the English top-flight within a single year were Liverpool in 1982 (106).
Manchester City’s winning run is currently 17 Premier League games in a row. Within Europe’s big five leagues, only one side has ever enjoyed a longer winning streak and that was Pep Guardiola’s Bayern Munich in 2013/14 (19 in a row).
Newcastle United have lost four successive Premier League games at home – they haven’t lost five in a row in league competition at home since October 1953 (six in a row).
Rafa Benitez’s first top-flight game as a manager came in September 1995 with Real Valladolid, facing Barcelona in La Liga. In the opposing team that day was Pep Guardiola.
Raheem Sterling has been involved in 20 goals for Manchester City in all competition this season (16 goals, four assists) – the only top-flight English player to be involved in more is Harry Kane.
Sergio Aguero has scored in each of his last five Premier League games against Newcastle (nine goals in total), including netting five in a 6-1 win at the Etihad in October 2015. Aguero has never scored in six consecutive Premier League games against an opponent (also 5 vs Spurs).