Premier League preview: Newcastle v Manchester City

Newcastle will attempt to break their Boxing Day hoodoo when they welcome Manchester City to St James’ Park on Sunday.

United have not won on December 26 since 2001, meaning they have gone eight games without a victory in their first fixture post-Christmas, and have also gone eight matches without a win against City in English Premier League encounters.

Newcastle’s home form has been sub-standard this season but their fans did enjoy a thrilling 3-1 victory over Liverpool in their most recent fixture at home, courtesy of goals from influential trio Kevin Nolan, Joey Barton and Andy Carroll.

United will face a tough test in defence, and with defensive pair Fabricio Coloccini and Mike Williamson both available to return to the side, manager Alan Pardew has a pleasant selection headache.

Whether he reverts back to Coloccini and Williamson, who have combined for most of the season at the back, or stick with replacements Sol Campbell and Steven Taylor, will be a sign of Pardew’s long-term intentions.

The difference may just be who Pardew thinks can handle the dangerous Carlos Tevez, with Coloccini likely to have the inside word on how to limit his national team-mate’s influence on the contest.

Tevez has been a constant pest for United defenders, scoring three goals in his past four matches against the Toon, and after a poor personal performance against Everton on Monday, one can expect the striker to be back to his clinical best if he gets through on goal.

City are statistically the best-performed side away from home this season, taking 17 points on the road, but have not won all three points from their past four trips to England’s north-east (Newcastle, Sunderland and Middlesbrough).

United have no fresh injury concerns, with Campbell set to be fit after having an extra week to recover from injury due to the postponement of their clash at Birmingham last Saturday.

Ryan Taylor, Hatem Ben Arfa and Dan Gosling all occupy the long-term injury list.

City’s only injury concern is striker Emmanuel Adebayor’s calf problem.