After sitting out of Matchday 11 due to coronavirus issues, Newcastle will be looking to return to action with a positive result when West Bromwich Albion visit St. James’ Park on Saturday.
The Magpies sit thirteenth in the table on 14 points, while the Baggies are second from bottom having only picked up six points from a possible 33 this term.
📆 #OnThisDay 2️⃣0️⃣0️⃣5️⃣A Nobby Solano winner against Arsenal! 🇵🇪🎺 pic.twitter.com/N18Bkln8vU— Newcastle United FC (@NUFC) December 10, 2020
📆 #OnThisDay 2️⃣0️⃣0️⃣5️⃣A Nobby Solano winner against Arsenal! 🇵🇪🎺 pic.twitter.com/N18Bkln8vU
It’s fair to say that Newcastle have endured an inconsistent start to the 2020/21 campaign; a record of W4-D2-L4 underlines their unpredictability.
Steve Bruce’s side beat Everton at the beginning of November, before suffering back-to-back 2-0 defeats to Southampton and Chelsea.
However, Newcastle beat Crystal Palace by the same scoreline in their previous match, with late strikes from Callum Wilson and Joelinton.
Only six teams have scored fewer Premier League goals than Newcastle this term. On the flip side, just six sides have conceded less goals than Bruce’s men.
If the Magpies can match their defensive efforts at the other end of the pitch, they should be able to start climbing up the table.
Meanwhile, West Brom head into Saturday’s clash on the back of a 5-1 thrashing at the hands of Crystal Palace last weekend.
The game was poised at 1-1 at half-time, but following Matheus Pereira’s red card late in the first half, the Eagles scored four goals to punish the Baggies.
Slaven Bilic’s men have only managed to win one of their 11 league games this term, with three draws and seven defeats coming along the way.
Their sole victory of the campaign came a fortnight ago against fellow strugglers Sheffield United, who sit five points adrift of West Brom at the bottom of the table.
Not only at the Baggies the second-lowest scorers in the division, they also have the worst defensive record.
Head-to-head: These two sides met in the FA Cup last season, with Newcastle beating West Brom 3-2 back in March.
In fact, Newcastle have only lost one of their previous four meetings against West Brom in all competitions.
Team news: Newcastle will be without Dwight Gayle, Martin Dubravka and Paul Dummett on Saturday, although Allan Saint-Maximin, Andy Carrol, Jamaal Lascelles and Ryan Fraser could return.
Matheus Pereia is suspended following his red card last weekend. West Brom will be hoping that Jake Livermore and Sam Field pass fitness tests before the weekend.
Despite Newcastle missing out last weekend, it is difficult to see how West Brom will get anything from this match.
Forebet predicts that Newcastle will score over 1.5 goals and keep a clean sheet on their way to victory over West Brom on Saturday.