Selhurst Park is the location for Newcastle United’s next instalment of their 22/23 Premier League campaign as they visit Crystal Palace.
Following their last minute equaliser to take a share of the points from Manchester United during the week, Patrick Vieira’s side currently sit in 12th place on 23 points. Their visitors to Selhurst Park this weekend are currently 11 points ahead of them in fourth place following their dramatic last minute winner against Fulham.
Michael Olise’s stunning free kick in the dying minutes of their home time against Manchester United earned the Eagles a well deserved point but it could have been a much different story if it wasn’t thanks to David De Gea who made a string of top saves to keep his side in it.
Even though their draw against United during the week ended their three match unbeaten run in all competitions, the Eagles will be cautious that fixtures for February aren’t the easiest as they have to play the Red Devils once more along with Brentford, Brighton & Hove Albion and Liverpool. Failure to pick up any points in those fixtures could see them slide down the table as we head towards spring. Also, all their last eight 5:30pm Saturday Evening Premier League matches at Selhurst Park have ended in defeats for the home side. Perhaps that run could be extended come 8pm Saturday night.
The visitors to Selhurst Park this weekend are coming off the back of a hard fought 1-0 victory over Fulham at St James’ Park. Aleksandar Mitrovic thought he had put his team in-front of his former club from the penalty spot but thanks to the St James Park groundsman, the former magpie slipped when taking his kick and struck the ball twice so the referee had no choice but to disallow it despite it hitting the back of the net. It would fall to super sub Alexander Isak to link up with fellow striker Callum Wilson in the 89th minute to secure the three points for the home side.
The Magpies have had a very successful first half to the campaign by all standards, reaching the Semi Final of the Carabao Cup and currently occupying fourth place in the table just one point behind both Manchester clubs at time of writing. They are also five points ahead of Tottenham Hotspur who face the current champions Manchester City tonight (Thursday 19th Jan).
The Magpies enter their match on Saturday evening on a current 14 game unbeaten run in the top flight and have only conceded 11 goals all season. Keeping clean sheets in their last five top flight fixtures unsurprisingly gives them the title of having the best defensive record in the league this season. Four of the last six games PL games on the road for Newcastle have ended up in a victory for Eddie Howe’s side but their reverse fixture earlier on in the season resulted in a 0-0 draw at St James Park. Even when both sides met in the EFL Cup Third Round, after 90 minutes it was scoreless before Newcastle eventually won on penalties.
Crystal Palace Team News: Joachim Anderson is out for a few weeks with a calf injury which resulted in Chris Richard’s to make his first premier league start in the midweek draw against Manchester United. Will Hughes will be wanting to keep his place in the starting line up, Jordan Ayew and Eberechi Eze will be hoping to be recalled.
Newcastle United Team News: Bruno Guimaraes will miss the game with an ankle injury he sustained just before half time against Fulham. Thankfully for Eddie Howe’s side it’s not as bad as originally feared and the star man should be back in time for their EFL Cup Semi-Final first leg against Southampton. Joelinton is expected to keep his place in the starting line up, he could revert to the centre of the park for in Bruno’s absence which would likely mean Allan Saint-Maximin could take the slot on the wing opposite Miguel Almiron. Alexander Isak will have Callum Wilson’s starting position in his sights, the Swedish international now doesn’t have to fend off competition from Chris Wood who is on his way to Nottingham Forrest.
Sutty’s Match Prediction: The Premier League is an unpredictable competition where certain results can come as a surprise to various clubs and fan bases. On this occasion though I don’t see Crystal Palace upsetting the travelling Geordie fans and I expect Newcastle to come away from London with the three points. No doubt they will miss Bruno Guimaraes but they have enough firepower to cover his short absence. Eddie Howe has got his side playing with confidence and even when they don’t play to their absolute best, they still manage to snatch goals. My score prediction for this game being Crystal Palace 0 Newcastle United 2.
@jsuttonwrites
19.01.2023