Newcastle United are winless after ten matches this season and they will look to end their poor run of form at St. James’ Park against Watford.
Another weekend of Premier League football is upon us and all eyes will be on Newcastle United tomorrow to see if they can finally claim their first victory of the season. The Magpies had two golden opportunities to earn back-to-back victories against Brighton and Southampton, but several squandered chances and a lack of urgency led to five points dropped.
Watford, on the other hand, are enjoying their best-ever start to a Premier League campaign with 19 points from their first ten matches. With six victories and three draws, the Hornets will come to Tyneside as the favorites to claim three points. Watford’s impressive form since August means that they will serve as a major test for Rafa Benitez and his players.
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Kick-off for this match is scheduled for 3:00PM and both sides will be impatiently waiting for the opening whistle. Newcastle will be playing with the objective of winning their first match of the season and three points for Watford could potentially see them break into the top four.
Will Benitez Attack or Be Conservative?
With Newcastle losing their first five matches at home, this match against Watford comes at the worst possible time. Rafa Benitez will have an important decision to make ahead of this match – to attack or steal a point? Under normal circumstances, Newcastle would try to win early on, but then fight for a point if they fail to take the lead. Under current circumstances, Newcastle have no choice but to attack.
Desperation is the key word on Tyneside and the pressure will remain on the players’ shoulders until three points are in the bag. The only way for Newcastle to win is by attacking Watford the way they attacked against Manchester United and Brighton (combined for 40 shot attempts).
Watford boasts a quality front-line and midfield, but their back-line is average. If Newcastle can spread the ball out wide to feed Salomon Rondon and Yoshinori Muto with crosses, they will overwhelm the visitors’ back-line and force more midfielders to get back, which would limit their offensive impact.
Overall, though, Watford are transforming into a dominant club under manager Javi Garcia. The Hornets have handled business against weaker opponents and gave elite teams a good scare for 90 minutes. Newcastle are experiencing an identity crisis at the moment and only a win or a very convincing draw against Watford can help start the rebuilding of confidence.
Match Prediction: Newcastle 1-1 Watford