Newcastle United have endured a huge slip in recent months and Rafael Benitez’s side now face the risk of relegation, as they sit just a single point above the relegation zone.
All the talk on Tyneside continues to lie off the field as Mike Ashley edges closer towards a sale to Amanda Staveley, although it won’t cont for too much if the Magpies don’t turn their form around and rise up the Premier League table.
After back-to-back home defeats to Leicester City and Everton, Benitez’s side have now gone from anxiously looking over their shoulder to fully involved in the relegation threat- and with the likes of Crystal Palace and West Ham below them enjoying an upturn in form, the danger is severely growing.
Things don’t get any easier for the Magpies this weekend as they go toe-to-toe with Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium and BBC pundit Mark Lawrenson is predicting yet another defeat for Rafael Benitez’s side. Writing in his weekly predictions, he said:
“The story at Newcastle is now as much about what is happening off the pitch as it is on it, because it would appear a deal for a takeover is imminent. That is good news, but the trouble is their results have been so bad they are in a situation now where they somehow have to find a way to stop the rot.”
“Magpies boss Rafa Benitez has been trying to change things, without success. The outcome is still the same, and it is usually a defeat – they have picked up only one point from their past eight games and are sliding towards the relegation zone.”
“As for Arsenal, well they are wobbling a bit with two points from their past three games. But, if you are having a hiccup like that, the team you want to play next is the one on a run like Newcastle are – which is why I am going for a Gunners win here.”
The former Liverpool defender is tipping a 3-0 win for the Gunners, which could be enough to send Newcastle into the relegation zone if results elsewhere go against them.
