This weekend’s match at Bournemouth will be a difficult one, but Newcastle United have three reasons to be confident.
Newcastle United played in one of the most thrilling games of the season on Saturday when they came from behind to top Everton 3-2 at St. James’ Park. It was one of those matches that will be remembered for quite some time, but for now the Magpies must turn their attention to Bournemouth.
Bournemouth are an interesting team because they are unpredictable. In fact, I think Bournemouth are the most unpredictable side in the Premier League. The Cherries can hang with anyone on a good day and they can get thrashed by multiple goals on a bad day. Bournemouth will be at home, but this fact alone should not make them the favorites. Here are three reasons why Newcastle should be confident on Saturday.
Momentum After Everton
A team does not simply forget an amazing come-from-behind victory against a top ten side when training for their next match. Newcastle showed just how far determination and urgency can take a team when faced with adversity and that football is a tale of two halves.
The Magpies should acknowledge the fact that Bournemouth are a completely different opponent, but they should use their momentum from the Everton match to fuel their motivation for Saturday’s clash.
NUFC: Top Six Team since January
The current table shows Newcastle sitting in 13th place, just one spot and three points below Bournemouth. However, if the season began on January 1st, the Magpies would be in the top six behind Manchester City, Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool and Tottenham. Newcastle have experienced an impressive revival with five wins and one draw from their last ten games.
In addition, the arrival of Miguel Almiron has made Newcastle fun to watch as they take the game to their opponents instead of defend and counter. For most of the season, the Magpies were dead last in terms of shots created, but they have climbed seven places in those rankings over the last few weeks having created 351 shot attempts thus far.
Hot Offense vs. Weak Defense
This next point is what will make Saturday’s match interesting for both sets of supporters and neutral viewers. As mentioned in the section above, Newcastle’s offensive resurgence has enabled them to climb the table and earn some impressive results at home and away. The Magpies have only scored 29 goals all season, but they have managed to score 13 goals in their last eight matches, scoring two goals on three occasions and three goals twice.
Bournemouth are playing well offensively, too, with 41 goals scored in 30 matches, but their key problem is defending. The Cherries have conceded the third-most number of goals, 54, in the Premier League this season. Only Fulham (68), Burnley (57) and Cardiff City (57) have conceded more. This bodes well for Salomon Rondon and Ayoze Perez whose chemistry and efficiency up top have caused problems for opponents in recent weeks. The duo have a combined tally of 14 goals this season.