After a tough trip to the Old Trafford ended in a goal-less draw, Newcastle United will now host yet another top four contender in Arsenal. They will play the Gunners who are a bit low on confidence after a below par start to the Premier League season. Steve McClaren will be relatively happy with his side’s performance in the match against United and will want them to repeat if not better their performance.
Arsene Wenger on the other hand will be trying to find ways to play out a commanding game of football. A trip to Newcastle can never be easy and the Gunners will have to improve on their performances from the previous games if they want to go out of this game with all three points. In this article, we have given you the preview of the match with the team news and predictions for the game.
The Newcastle United vs Arsenal game will be played at the St James’ Park on Saturday the 29th of August. The Kickoff is scheduled at 12:45 pm BST (5:15 pm IST).
Team News
The favored center back pairing for the London club missed the game against Liverpool and they are expected to miss this game as well after failing to pass the fitness test ahead of Saturday’s game. They will dearly be missed as was seen in the Liverpool game. Thomas Rosicky is a long term absentee and Danny Welbeck along with Jack Wilshere are expected to return to match fitness after the International break.
The biggest news for the Magpies will be the availability of the ex-Marseille player Thauvin who might be handed his first Premier League start after having impressed in his first start for the club against Northampton in the mid week. Mousa Sissoko and Daryl Jaanmat will be available for selection after injury and suspension respectively.
Newcastle played out a very defensive game at the Old Trafford and came out of the game with a point. They were compact and disciplined in their defense and did not allow United to score though they came close. However, it will interesting to see if McClaren will use the same style of play at home or will take the attack to the Arsenal side which badly lacks a bit of self belief.
Arsenal were outplayed by Liverpool in almost every department in the first half of the game between the two teams last week. The Arsenal defense could not cope with the height of Benteke and the skill of Coutinho and would have not got a point from the match if not for the heroics from Petr Cech. Their defense which was at best shaky will again be put to test against a Newcastle side who put 4 past a Northampton side in the mid week cup game.
McClaren will be wary of the weaknesses of their opponents but Arsenal on their day can blow away opponents with their style of play. The likes of Sanchez, Giroud and Ozil will pose severe problem to the back line of Newcastle and they will have to be at their best to deny Arsenal a victory away from home.
Expected Lineups
Newcastle United
Krul, Janmaat, Mbemba, Coloccini, Haidara, Anita, Colback, Perez, Wijnaldum, Thauvin, Mitrovic
Arsenal
Cech, Bellerin, Chambers, Gabriel, Monreal, Coquelin, Cazorla, Ramsey, Ozil, Sanchez, Giroud
Prediction
Arsenal have not been great with the ball at feet in any of the games so far. But they have shown glimpses of what they can do and Newcastle cannot afford to provide space to any of the attacking players. If they lose their discipline even for a moment, Arsenal is a team that will make them pay. But McClaren’s side seems to have grown in confidence and will provide a stern test to the Gunners.
Our Prediction : Newcastle United 2-3 Arsenal