Today’s match against Manchester United marks the final major test for Newcastle United until late December.
With zero wins and only two points from their first seven matches of the 2018-19 campaign, it is quite obvious that Newcastle United are in crisis mode. Fingers are constantly being pointed by supporters and pundits in an attempt to find a scapegoat for this poor run of form, however, Newcastle will not have any more room for excuses after their match against Manchester United later today.
Why? Well, it is quite simple – take a look at the upcoming schedule. Between October 20th and December 26th, Newcastle will play against six bottom-half sides. In addition, six of the ten matches that Newcastle will play between October 20th and December 26th will be played at St. James’ Park.
Something major that we all have learned about the Magpies this season is that they lack the quality to compete with top teams in the Premier League. It is true that Newcastle only lost to Tottenham, Chelsea, Manchester City and Arsenal by one goal, but that is because Rafa Benitez chose to park the bus.
In today’s match, anything can happen as Newcastle are eager to get their first victory of the season and Manchester United are off to a poor start sitting 10th in the table. However, today’s result should not matter much. The expectation is for Manchester United to rout Newcastle at Old Trafford. What Newcastle should aim for is to learn from this match as the final test until the end of 2018.
Learn and Prepare
Just because everyone in England expects the Red Devils to dominate the Magpies today does not mean Newcastle have to accept that as reality. Newcastle should do their best to claim a shocking victory on the road against Manchester United, but their primary aim should be to play competitive football through urgency and not worry much about the result.
Newcastle will have a two-week break upon the conclusion of today’s match and then they will play Brighton (home) and Southampton (away), which are two winnable games that can reverse this trend of poor form. In order to win both of those matches, Newcastle must put in a good showing against Manchester United to build some confidence heading into this long break where they can better prepare and tie up loose ends before facing two bottom-half opponents.