Newcastle United travel to Selhurst Park on Sunday in a game that both the Magpies and Crystal Palace will be desperately hoping they can pick up three points to get their respective seasons back on track.
Matthias Jaissle has some glaring issues he must address if his side are to get a result, one of which is the gaping holes left for the opposition to exploit in transition, which has plagued the Magpies for the large majority of this season.
That specific problem is perhaps even more pertinent ahead of this weekend due to the rich vein of form that Daichi Kamada currently finds himself in.
The Japanese has emerged as one of the Eagles’ top performers so far this season after being moved back into his favoured number 10 position by new boss Pierre Sage, scoring once and assisting three goals in seven Premier League appearances.
That arguably makes him Palace’s most dangerous player for the Magpies to contain and Jaissle will have to come up with a plan to prevent the creative abilities he has shown so far this season from once again shining bright.
Why is Kamada such a danger?
Palace play with two number 10’s in behind the striker, both of which stay in central areas to create space for the wing-backs to exploit.
But we have already seen just how much the Magpies can struggle with someone playing in between the lines under Jaissle, think back to Bournemouth and Marcus Tavernier inverting from the left or Johan Manzambi at the weekend, for example.
Kamada can both operate as that player in the forward areas, but also act as the link between the build-up phase and attacking third in that space behind Newcastle's first line of press.
As we saw against Aston Villa, that was a massive issue for Newcastle and, if Jaissle decides to set up in the same manner, could well create some concerning pictures once again on Sunday.
Not only that but Kamada will also be a nuisance when Newcastle have the ball. The Japanese midfielder will be tasked with preventing play through the central areas, something Newcastle have already struggled with on more that one occasion, and he will look to cut off those vertical balls through the lines that Jaissle looks to implement.
How Newcastle can combat him
Firstly, it’s worth noting that Kamada did play a full 90 minutes against Besiktas midweek, so there could even be a question over whether he actually starts the game never mind Newcastle having to stop him.
But the issue if he does play is that preventing Kamada from doing what he has done so far this season isn’t a simple change. It’s actually one of the toughest dilemmas Jaissle has to fix.
Kamada will be in those big spaces that the Magpies naturally leave when they are looking to press, meaning that, in the usual system, there will not be anybody directly responsible for picking him up.
Newcastle will have to tweak their setup and play with a little more stability and structure. That isn’t to say that the Magpies have to man mark Kamada, but communication and making sure he is passed on into areas where he can be occupied will be crucial in preventing him from connecting the forward line in build-up.
With the ball, there is actually a good opportunity for the Magpies to exploit Palace. Not specifically through Kamada, but Brighton showed in their 5-0 over Sage’s side just how open the Eagles become if you can play through their initial press.
Palace look to trap the opposition in wide areas, but that has been where the Magpies are most dangerous this season so may well play into the hands of Jaissle’s men.
Kamada will look to block off those passing lanes into central areas, but if Newcastle can get someone like Lewis Hall on the ball, who has the ability to drive inside and beat a man, we could see some real opportunities for the Magpies to force the transitions where they have looked so dangerous so far this season.
Ultimately, if Newcastle are to come away with three points from Sunday’s game, they will need to do a lot more than just stop Kamada from playing.
But if Jaissle can find a way to prevent the Japanese from picking up those midfield pockets, and use his role out of possession to create overload situations in areas Palace will try to contain, that will stand this Newcastle side in good stead to put in a worthy performance away from home.
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