Newcastle United-Manchester City Preview

Manchester City are desperate for a positive result from Saturday's home match against Newcastle United to bolster their defence of the Premier League title.

Second-place City (15-7-3) remain seven points behind leaders Chelsea after a disappointing run that has seen Manuel Pellegrini's side claim just one win in five league matches. The Citizens were also eliminated from FA Cup play after losing 2-0 at home to Championship side Middlesbrough on Jan. 24.

Pellegrini, however, has been boosted by the return to goal-scoring form of star striker Sergio Aguero, who scored a brace in the 4-1 win at Stoke on Feb. 11 to end a run of five games without a goal since returning from a knee ligament injury.

Argentina international Aguero insists City are in a good position to be the first repeat champions since Manchester United won three straight titles from 2007-09.

"There is a long way to go and a lot of games to play so anything is possible," Aguero told his club's website. "Right now, it's anyone's title and it's not just two sides competing - there are many teams that are still in the hunt.

"Arsenal and United are back on their feet, Southampton are not far behind and Liverpool and the Spurs have all shown good form, too. I believe this will be one of the most highly contested Premier Leagues of recent years and we will be giving everything to retain our title."

Newcastle (8-8-9) drew 1-1 at Crystal Palace on Feb. 11 and look relatively safe in mid-table after collecting 32 points from 25 matches, but the Geordies have won only one of their last six top-flight matches.

Despite that run, coach John Carver insists Newcastle will travel to the Etihad Stadium with confidence.

"We are going there knowing that we are playing against a good side, but we are not going to be fearful because we've proved that we can go there and get a result," Carver told his club's website."We know that City have a huge Champions League game coming up on Tuesday against Barcelona, so what changes Pellegrini will make, I'm not entirely sure.

"One thing I will say is that City don't just have a good starting 11, they have a strong second string as well, so picking a first 11 must be difficult."

City should have Yaya Toure and recent signing Wilfried Bony both available after leading Ivory Coast to the Africa Cup of Nations title.

Newcastle defender Paul Dummett could miss the rest of the season after suffering a knee injury in Newcastle's last match, while Siem de Jong has a collapsed lung and will be out of action for eight weeks.

Man City beat Newcastle 2-0 at St. James' Park on the opening day of the season. David Silva put the defending champions up seven minutes before halftime, and Aguero killed off the game with a goal in the second minute of stoppage time.

Newcastle got revenge on City by putting the holders out of the League Cup at the Etihad in late October. Rolando Aarons and Moussa Sissoko got the goals in that 2-0 win.

City have won 10 straight Premier League matches against Newcastle, outscoring the Magpies 27-5 in those games. Newcastle haven't scored in 399 minutes of league football against the Citizens.

Newcastle's last league win over Man City was a 1-0 victory in September 2005, with Michael Owen scoring the game's only goal.