Newcastle United missed the chance to rise to sixth in the Premier League standings last weekend and saw their three match unbeaten match ended by a narrow 1-0 defeat to Burnley at Turf Moor, with a performance that was sub-par.
The Magpies struggled without a consistent goalscorer leading their line and the absence of Mikel Merino, who was injured, left a gaping hole in the Newcastle midfield.
Ahead of the upcoming international break, Newcastle will aim to return to winning ways this weekend when they host Bournemouth at St. James’ Park and Sky Sports pundit Paul Merson expects them to secure all three points.
Predicting a 2-1 victory for Rafael Benitez’s side, Merson said:
“I was really disappointed with Newcastle on Monday night (in their 1-0 loss at Burnley) if I’m being honest, the only plan they looked like having was Jonjo Shelvey. It was a game you thought, ‘go and try and win here and kick on,’ but it did not look good to me. Bournemouth got a good result at Stoke, but I am going to go 2-1 to Newcastle.”
Newcastle could slip into the bottom-half of the table if they fail to win this weekend, depending on how results elsewhere pan out.
