Newcastle United have seen themselves slip down the Premier League’s standings after a run of six defeats in their last seven matches, which has left the Magpies hovering above the relegation zone.
Rafael Benitez’s side now face a crucial run of fixtures over the festive season, starting with tomorrow night’s clash against Everton- a side that had also endured struggles but have turned a corner in recent weeks.
Sat just two points above the relegation zone, Newcastle need a swift upturn in form and BBC pundit Mark Lawrenson expects a positive result from the game against the Toffees- although he also expects the Magpies’ winless run to continue.
Writing in his weekly predictions, the former Liverpool defender said:
“When I was watching Newcastle’s defeat by Leicester, I sat there thinking which players from Newcastle’s starting XI would get into Leicester’s team. The answer was none of them would, which tells you a lot about what Magpies boss Rafa Benitez is up against there.”
“With the run that Newcastle are on, with just one point from their past seven games, getting anything from this game would represent a bit of progress. Everton have already achieved that since Sam Allardyce arrived at the end of November, on the back of a 4-0 win over a very poor West Ham side in David Unsworth’s final game as caretaker.”
Lawrenson has predicted a 1-1 draw for Newcastle at St. James’ Park, which would be an improvement but wouldn’t change the picture of the season so far dramatically.
