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Relegation battle tomorrow between Newcastle and Cardiff City

ByDurim Halimi|
NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE, ENGLAND - JANUARY 05: General view inside the stadium prior to the FA Cup Third Round match between Newcastle United and Blackburn Rovers at St. James Park on January 5, 2019 in Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom. (Photo by Mark Runnacles/Getty Images)
NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE, ENGLAND - JANUARY 05: General view inside the stadium prior to the FA Cup Third Round match between Newcastle United and Blackburn Rovers at St. James Park on January 5, 2019 in Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom. (Photo by Mark Runnacles/Getty Images)

The pressure will be on Newcastle United tomorrow as they need a win to climb out of the bottom three.

There are no easy games in the Premier League, but Newcastle United must make the most out of this opportunity to defeat Cardiff City at home, especially since their next opponents are Manchester City (H) and Tottenham (A). Tomorrow’s match may be a sleeper for neutral fans of English football, but it will be one of the most important matches of the season for Newcastle and Cardiff City supporters.

Newcastle will do all they can to climb out of the drop zone and Cardiff City will do their best to avoid swapping places with the Magpies. The last meeting between these two teams ended 0-0, but tomorrow will surely see one team claim all three points. Kick-off is scheduled for 3:00PM at St. James’ Park.

All or Nothing Tomorrow

Tomorrow’s match will be a true relegation battle. Both teams are closer to the EFL Championship than they are to maintaining their Top Flight statuses, so three points will be crucial. According to a poll we posted on our twitter account, the majority of Newcastle supporters are predicting a victory for the Magpies.

Cardiff City are an unpredictable opponent as they have proved that they can be competitive against good teams, but they can also fall asleep against bottom-half clubs. To be fair, though, Newcastle are in the same boat and both teams have similar performance records. A win against Cardiff City would be huge for Newcastle ahead of two difficult matches against top three opponents.

Newcastle boast more talent and Premier League experience on their roster. Players like Matt Ritchie, Christian Atsu and Salomon Rondon need to have stellar performances to carry this injury-plagued squad on their backs. Fabian Schar and Federico Fernandez will also need to perform well as defensive solidity would significantly help improve offensive efficiency.

A victory for Cardiff City would be a major blow for Newcastle, especially if Southampton and Fulham win their matches this weekend. After tomorrow, only 15 matches remain on the schedule and Newcastle must do everything they can to earn some positive results. Hoping that other teams slip up will not secure survival.

Match Prediction: Newcastle 2-0 Cardiff City