Wednesday 9 March 2016 13:33, UK
Manchester City have the best record in the Premier League against sides in the current bottom half of the table, but they are fourth worst when facing teams in the top half.
Manuel Pellegrini's side have taken 41 points out of a possible 45 and scored 38 goals against the 10 poorest teams in the division. That's good news for City fans, ahead of their Sky Live trip to Norwich on Saturday.
But against the 10 best teams, City have won only nine points from a possible 39 and scored just 14 times. Only Swansea City, Sunderland and Aston Villa have worse records.
And the disparity is further underlined by the emphatic margins of City's wins and defeats.
The 2014 champions hammered Newcastle 6-1, Bournemouth 5-1 and both Crystal Palace and Aston Villa 4-0, but they were similarly thrashed 4-1 and 3-0 by Liverpool, 4-1 by Tottenham and 3-1 by Leicester.
With top-half teams Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea, Southampton and Stoke still to face this season, it's a trend City need to buck to stand any chance of winning the title.
In direct contrast, Newcastle have bizarrely fared better against top-half teams than they have bottom-half teams.
Steve McClaren's side have taken 14 points from the top 10, scoring 15 goals, but only 10 points from bottom 10, scoring 13 goals.
Meanwhile, the most prolific team against the top 10 have been West Ham, with their seven wins including the scalps of Tottenham, Chelsea, Manchester City away, Arsenal away and Liverpool both home and away.
Why do Man City struggle against teams in the top half of the Premier League? Let us know using the message boards or by tweeting @SkyFootball
