Joelinton should have a big game against Norwich City

Joelinton will be expected to show his worth against Premier League newcomers Norwich City this weekend.

Newcastle United will be looking to rebound from their loss against Arsenal over the weekend with a victory against Norwich City on Saturday. It is only the second week of the season, but Newcastle United need all three points from this match seeing that two of their next three opponents consist of Tottenham (A) and Liverpool (A).

The Magpies looked decent against Arsenal on Sunday and the game should have ended in a draw, but one costly mistake was all the Gunners needed to win. Offensively, Newcastle United seemed a bit unorganized at times and Joelinton did not see the ball as much as he should have. Most of the credit for that goes to Arsenal’s tight defending, but Newcastle United’s midfielders know they should have played closer to their primary striker rather than send meaningless long-balls his way.

Norwich City have a young, energetic squad that can cause problems offensively, but their back-line will be extremely vulnerable this season. The Canaries did not spend much money on new players this summer and they failed to beef up their defense, which is a recipe for relegation. Norwich City have quick defenders who can close in on strikers, but they are not an aggressive bunch and they will struggle in containing Joelinton this weekend.

One thing we’ve noticed about Joelinton from his time in Germany and with Newcastle United during preseason is that he consolidates strength and technical skills quite well. The Brazilian striker knows how to protect the ball with his strength and then weave around defenders with his quick feet and superior dribbling. He came close to scoring on two occasions against Arsenal, but the likelihood of him scoring at Carrow Road is high for the following reasons.

Steve Bruce will, with full certainty, start Allan Saint-Maximin this weekend and the speedy winger will attract defensive attention out wide, which in turn will create open lanes for Joelinton in the penalty area. In addition, because Norwich City are such an attack-minded team, the middle of the park will open up for players like Jonjo Shelvey and Miguel Almiron when the Toon recover the ball and counter-attack.

This is important because it means the Magpies’ two playmakers  can set Joelinton up with more short passes and grounded through-balls, which is something Arsenal did well in preventing. As mentioned earlier, Norwich City have a vulnerable, untested back-line that will be spread out more than they would like against the Toon’s new, but dynamic attacking trio. Joelinton will have more looks at goal this weekend and he doesn’t need many chances to find his groove in front of goal.