Rondon experienced a resurgence against Bournemouth, can Joelinton?
By Durim Halimi
Newcastle United will host Bournemouth at St. James’ Park this weekend and this match presents Joelinton with a good opportunity to find his stride.
Newcastle United are coming off an impressive 3-2 victory against West Ham United and the team is now focused on claiming back-to-back wins for the first time this season. Bournemouth are also in good spirits after defeating Manchester United over the weekend, but they know they are in for a tough battle at St. James’ Park.
Eddie Howe’s squad were defeated on Tyneside by a score of 2-1 last season, a match which ironically took place in November and saw Salomon Rondon open his scoring campaign for the Magpies with a brace. Rondon found himself in the same boat as Joelinton at the moment with fans growing more and more frustrated with the lack goals from the striker.
Rondon managed to wake up against Bournemouth with two goals and he went on to finish the season with 11 goals and seven assists. Now, I know Halloween is behind us, but can Newcastle United experience a deja vu moment and claim three points against Bournemouth at home with goals from Joelinton? They sure can, but only if he receives the ball more often than has been the case so far this season.
Joelinton Can Have a Big Game
Joelinton has made 11 appearances for Newcastle United, but he only has one goal and one assist to his name. Fans would have been more patient with any other player, but the £40m price tag on his back sets a high bar of expectations. Like Rondon, Joelinton is not a player who can create too many chances for himself. The Brazilian is dependent on receiving quick passes up the middle and accurate crosses from wide in order to threaten opposing keepers.
So far, Joelinton has only taken 16 shots this seasons and there are two reasons that best explain why this has been the case. Firstly, the Magpies played ultra-defensive football in most of their opening matches, but it looks like Steve Bruce is shifting towards a more attacking style of play and this will help the 23-year-old striker get more looks at goal.
Secondly, Miguel Almiron and Allan Saint-Maximin have been playing with a “score first, pass later” mentality and this is reflected in the fact that Almiron has taken two more shots than Joelinton this season and Saint-Maximin is catching up with 11 attempts. The attacking trio is still trying to develop proper chemistry, but they need to try and get the ball into the box for Joelinton multiple times each match instead of firing shots from distance when they get around a defender.
Prediction: Will Joelinton score at least once against Bournemouth?
Joelinton was praised for his performance against West Ham United and I think he will feed off that positive energy to score his first goal at St. James’ Park and his second, or maybe even third, goal of the season.