Newcastle United need Salomon Rondon and Yoshinori Muto to start scoring goals over the next few matches.
With only six goals in ten matches, the scoring woes from last season have found new life for Newcastle United in the 2018-19 Premier League campaign. Rafa Benitez desperately searched for a new striking duo this summer and he was able to secure the services of Yoshinori Muto and Salomon Rondon.
For now, Benitez and the club’s supporters are being patient with the new striking duo. To start the season, Benitez relied on Joselu to lead the front-line while Muto worked on adapting to the Premier League and Rondon was tasked with improving his conditioning due to not playing any pre-season matches for West Brom.
After a several weeks of training and recovering from a thigh injury, Rondon is now ready to start up top with Muto either alongside him or behind him in place of Ayoze Perez. So far, in their limited appearances for Newcastle, the two strikers have combined for one assist (Rondon) and one goal (Muto).
Rondon and Muto vs. Watford and Bournemouth
Newcastle blew their chances of claiming six points from two winnable matches against Brighton (1-0 loss) and Southampton (0-0 draw) and now they will be tasked with stealing points from two sides in great form. Watford (seventh, 19 points) and Bournemouth (sixth, 20 points) will be favorites against Newcastle, but if Rondon and Muto can perform at an elite level then the story changes.
The expectation is that Rondon and Muto will benefit from playing back-to-back matches at home and the support from the Toon Army should motivate the eager strikers to get some goals for the Magpies. Both players have shown that they can get into positions to get good looks on goal and positioning in the penalty area will be key against Watford and Bournemouth.
In terms of defending, Watford and Bournemouth have both conceded 12 goals in 10 matches, a statistic which shows that they can be exposed in the back. Rondon carries the pressure of being the main summer signing on his shoulders and he will be expected to score at least one goal against both opponents.
The expectation is the same for Muto. It has been a few years since Newcastle enjoyed the presence of two strikers who can score on a consistent basis, but Rondon and Muto certainly have the potential to do just that as long as they receive sufficient support from midfield.