Europa League
2013-02-21 - Metalist Kharkiv vs Newcastle United
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: European Europa League
Thursday 21 February 2013 - Kick Off 6pm
This game is live on TV
Metalist Kharkiv
Last week, I thought Metalist Kharkiv were going to be facing a deficit in England when they took on Newcastle United, but they showed some defensive resilience to just about come away with a goalless draw. That doesn't mean the Ukrainian side consider themselves favourites as they know how much quality the Newcastle side have, while failing to grab an away goal also makes life a little bit difficult.
The side have become a real feature in the Europa League in recent seasons, much like a lot of the Eastern European teams. Metalist reached the Quarter Final of the Europa League last season, while they have won 7 of their last 9 home games in the competition including 4 in a row this season.
Metalist will only be playing their second game since the Winter break so there is a chance that they could still be lacking some match fitness. They had won 5 in a row at home before the Winter break and Metalist have now won 9 of their last 10 in all competitions in front of their own fans.
There are no new injury worries for Metalist Kharkiv ahead of this game.
Newcastle United
Alan Pardew admitted that he was taking the Europa League seriously ahead of the first tie last week, but it will be interesting to see if he has changed his tune this time around. The 0-0 home draw isn't the worst result in the world, especially if Newcastle grab the first goal in this one, but the team news will be interesting with Southampton due to visit on Sunday in a relegation battle.
Newcastle have lost just 1 of their 9 games in the Europa League this season and even that loss was when a second string team went to Bordeaux after qualification had almost certainly been assured. However, Newcastle have only won 3 of their 9 Europa League games, and they have only won 1 of their last 7 away games in Europe.
The side have won just 2 of their last 10 games in all competitions and they have been defeated in 6 of those games. Newcastle have won just 1 away game all season and they have lost 8 of their last 10 games on their travels.
Davide Santon has been rested for this game while Hatem Ben Arfa will not be risked having only recently returned to training. Other than those two players, a strong squad has travelled to the Ukraine.
Head to Head
This will be the first competitive game between the sides in the Ukraine.
Prediction
There were plenty of chances for Newcastle United to take a lead to the Ukraine last week at St James' Park and the goalless draw was a surprise.
I have a feeling this match could go the other way with a few goals scored as either side scoring will put the pressure on the other and likely open the game up.
Both teams will feel they can win the game and Metalist Kharkiv are the right favourites with their home form, although the Winter break and lack of competitive football is a concern.
I can see a 2-1 win for one of the sides in this one and so will take the over 2.5 goals at a standout 2.20 being offered by Coral.
The Pick :
Metalist Kharkiv 2-1 Newcastle United
