Paul Merson has been discussing St. James’ Park and Newcastle United’s current state.
It is now getting close to the eighteenth NUFC Premier League game of the season, according to the former Arsenal player.
Eddie Howe and his team have already participated in twenty-six games across all categories.
Paul Merson talks on the potential before Newcastle United’s away game against Luton.
Speaking to Sportsskeeda, Paul Merson said:
“I attended the midweek match between Chelsea and Newcastle United.
“The Magpies did not appear fluid at all, even if they only lost due to penalties.
“This is a hard match to predict because Luton Town is a difficult team to play against at Kenilworth Road.
“Newcastle United is far from full strength due to their excessive number of injuries.
Right now, their players are disappearing like flies.
“It’s disappointing to see that Kielan Trippier is having difficulties right now. After a great start to the season, his confidence seemed to have waned.
“I simply believe Eddie Howe’s team will have a very tough game ahead of them.
“I don’t see Newcastle destroying Luton after they take the lead.
“I think the spoils might be shared in this one, but I’m leaning towards Luton.”
“Prediction: Newcastle United 1, Luton Town 1.”
Paul Merson gave a really decent summary of Newcastle United and this Saturday’s game there.
Luton’s terrible home record is 1 win, 2 draws, and 5 losses, whereas Newcastle United’s terrible away record is 1 win, 1 tie, and 2 losses.
Although Luton’s performances—especially at home—have improved, their outcomes have not.
Their solitary home victory of the season came against Palace, but their other five games at home have seen them lose by one goal margins to Tottenham, Arsenal, and Manchester City, tie with Liverpool, and lose by one goal margin to Liverpool.
I saw them play Liverpool, and I thought Luton was the better team and that they should have won. Liverpool missed an equaliser in the fifth minute of extra time.
In the last two home games, the Hatters had leads against Man City and Arsenal at the hour mark, but they lost both in the closing 30 minutes.
Consequently, Newcastle United comes up.
Paul Merson notes that Eddie Howe is losing an incredible amount of players—four more injuries have been sustained in the past week alone! Joelinton and Schar were substituted off against Fulham on Saturday, while Krafth and Gordon were the targets of naughty challenges on Tuesday when Chelsea took advantage of the lack of VAR.
In their last three games, Newcastle United has shown great form against AC Milan, Fulham, and Chelsea. Ironically, they won against Fulham while trailing 0-0 at halftime, whereas in the other two games, they led at the half but lost both.
Eddie Howe must play the same players every game, even if they are hurt or not totally fit, and he has very few choices to improve things from the bench. As we all know, there are many mitigating factors and the quantity of injuries is undoubtedly the biggest factor.
If we want to win, Newcastle United needs to play better in the first half and score a few goals in the first forty-five minutes, in my opinion.
We should have a decent notion of the direction this match is going within ten minutes, in my opinion.
Once we see the kind of team Eddie Howe has assembled, their current state of play, and their ability to get off to a strong start in the game.
