English Premier
2018-09-15 - Newcastle United vs Arsenal
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: English Premier League
Saturday 15th September 2018 - Kick Off 3pm
Newcastle United
It looks like being another season of struggle for Newcastle United who have not had the investment in the playing squad the management and fans would have expected in the summer transfer window. Rafa Benitez continues to receive the backing from the stands, but his own patience has to be wearing thin in a very tough job at St James' Park.
A tough opening set of fixtures won't have helped the mood and that has seen Newcastle United drop into 18th place in the Premier League table with just a single point earned so far from a possible 12. They have hosted Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea in the Premier League and Newcastle United are unsurprisingly at 0-0-2 with 2 goals scored and 4 conceded.
Newcastle United have won 1 of their last 10 games in all competitions and they have been beaten in 8 of those including the last 3 in a row. That includes a defeat to Nottingham Forest in the League Cup Second Round and the mood is not good around the club. The Magpies have won 1 of their last 4 home games in the Premier League and have been beaten in 3 of those.
Javi Manquillo, Matt Ritchie and Jonjo Shelvey could all be back in contention this weekend after overcoming knocks.
Arsenal
Unai Emery is taken over from a long-term manager at Arsenal which means he is going to need some time for his ideas to get across to his players. There will be system tweaks and players are going to be rotated in and out of the side, but there have been positive signs shown by Arsenal as they entered the international break.
The Gunners moved up to 9th in the Premier League table having secured 6 points from a possible 12 in the opening month of the season. They improved to 1-0-1 away from home in the Premier League and Arsenal have scored and conceded 5 goals in those games.
Arsenal opened the season with back to back losses to Manchester City and Chelsea, but they have bounced back to beat West Ham United at home and Cardiff City on the road. The side have lost 5 of their last 7 away games in all competitions, but Arsenal have won 2 of their last 3 Premier League away games.
Lucas Torreira and Alex Iwobi could both be involved this weekend, but four other players remain on the long-term absentee list and won't return until after the next international break at the earliest.
Head to Head
Both Arsenal and Newcastle United won their home League game against the other last season.
Newcastle United came from 0-1 down to beat Arsenal 2-1 at St James' Park which snapped a run of 10 consecutive home games without a win over The Gunners.
Arsenal had won on 4 consecutive visits to St James' Park before last season.
Prediction
This is the third home game of the season for Newcastle United and they are facing yet another club that finished in the top six last season. Both Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea have deservedly won here this season, but this Arsenal team are still finding their feet under Unai Emery which may make them vulnerable as a short priced favourite.
However I have been impressed with the chances Arsenal have been creating in their games under Emery and they did have a very good record at St James' Park before the 2-1 defeat here a few months ago.
On that occasion Arsenal did take the lead before losing, but I am not sure this current Newcastle United squad have the kind of confidence to be able to recover from a deficit. I know they have fallen behind to Spurs, Chelsea and Manchester City and found an equaliser, but Newcastle United have not created a lot of chances in those games and still look short of goals which makes me believe they are not going to be capable of continuing to fight back in these bigger games.
Arsenal have been far from convincing at the back which is an issue for them to resolve, but that may take time as the players get used to the methods Emery wants to employ. Even with those problems in mind, Arsenal have looked very good going forward and are creating plenty of chances which makes it tough for Newcastle United to look to contain them.
The home team will be backed by a passionate crowd, but Arsenal handled the occasion in a 2-3 win at Cardiff City prior to the international break and I think they will have too much for Newcastle United. They are barely odds on for this fixture, and I would have liked a slightly better price, but Arsenal look the better team and are playing with a real goal threat.
I feel they will have at least two goals in them at St James' Park on Saturday and I simply don't think Newcastle United will be able to match them with the limited threat posed so far this season. The home team may score, but it won't be enough to avoid defeat as far as I am concerned.
The Statistics :
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The Pick :
Newcastle United 1-2 Arsenal
BEST BETTING TIP :
I'll back Arsenal to Win @ 1.91 BetFred
