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Newcastle United should respect Huddersfield Town

By Durim Halimi

HUDDERSFIELD, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 15: Christian Atsu of Newcastle United acknowledges the fans after the Premier League match between Huddersfield Town and Newcastle United at John Smith's Stadium on December 15, 2018 in Huddersfield, United Kingdom. (Photo by Jan Kruger/Getty Images)
HUDDERSFIELD, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 15: Christian Atsu of Newcastle United acknowledges the fans after the Premier League match between Huddersfield Town and Newcastle United at John Smith's Stadium on December 15, 2018 in Huddersfield, United Kingdom. (Photo by Jan Kruger/Getty Images) /
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Newcastle United are the favorites to win the match against Huddersfield Town, but the Magpies should not underestimate the Terriers.

After a difficult string of matches against Manchester City, Tottenham and Wolverhampton, Newcastle United have a more lenient match to look forward to this Saturday when they host Huddersfield Town at St. James’ Park. Huddersfield Town managed to avoid relegation last season, but their fate seems to be in the EFL Championship next season as they sit in the league basement with a mere 11 points from  26 matches.

The fact that Newcastle will host Huddersfield at home is music for the Toon Army’s ears, however, arrogance will only lead to problems on the field for Newcastle. The Magpies know they are the better team, but they must stay focused in order to handle business and move further away from the drop zone, especially since they have another favorable match against Burnley coming up on the schedule.

The Last Meeting

Newcastle won the previous meeting between these two sides thanks to a goal from Salomon Rondon, but Huddersfield Town outplayed the Magpies in that match. Rafa Benitez’s men were frustrated all evening as Huddersfield maintained 74% of the possession and had 15 shot attempts over the course of 90 minutes.

Newcastle did well to bury their best chance of the evening to secure all three points, but Huddersfield made life difficult with good ball movement and stubborn defending. For this reason, Newcastle must not take Saturday’s visitors lightly. Huddersfield are playing terrible football at the moment, but that does not guarantee Newcastle a victory. The Magpies need to stay grounded and emulate their performance against Cardiff City to secure three crucial points.

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Must Win on Saturday

Huddersfield’s fate is pretty much written, but Newcastle still have a good chance to maintain their Premier League status. A victory  this weekend would serve as a major boost for Newcastle in this tight relegation battle and it could be the perfect way to motivate the team to earn a win against Burnley next Tuesday. The friendly match against CSKA Moscow in Spain last weekend was a good way for the Magpies to prepare for a weaker opponent in Huddersfield.

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