Sky Sports pundit Paul Merson has predicted that Newcastle United will suffer yet another loss in the Premier League when they take on Manchester United on Saturday.
The Magpies take on United at Old Trafford and Merson has admitted that he could not believe what he was witnessing when he saw Newcastle lose 2-0 to Leicester City last weekend – and has further twisted the knife by saying that he does not think that Rafa Benitez’ players are capable of conjuring up a goal.
He reckons that the Red Devils will secure all three points with a 2-0 win over United, leaving Newcastle without a win the top flight so far this season.
“I watched Newcastle the other day against Leicester and I couldn’t believe what I was watching. I’ve played at St James’ park plenty of times and it was a hard place to play football. The players were up for it, the crowd were up for it and it was a hard game,” he told Sky Sports.
“If Manchester United could hand pick any team to play this weekend it would be Newcastle. Forget Cardiff or Huddersfield it would be Newcastle because they can’t score a goal, they don’t even look like scoring a goal.
“On the flip side, if United don’t win this game there’ll be major trouble at Old Trafford. Newcastle will go there for a 0-0 but United will eventually break them down.”
OPINION
As sad as it is to say, Merson could not be more accurate in his prediction for this game. Manchester United will go into it all guns blazing on the back of their recent defeat, and they will certainly be more dangerous than ever as a result. They will want a victory more than anything, and as Merson pointed out, they could not have a better team to play this weekend. Newcastle do not look like scoring anytime soon, so Jose Mourinho will not be too concerned about their threat going forward. Nevertheless, the game could go Newcastle’s way if United to not come out in the way that they are expected to, and we could see a more competitive fixture on our hands. Newcastle will also be desperate for a victory, although it still remains to be seen where their next goal will come from. 2-0 seems pretty accurate though, unless the Magpies can pull off a shock.
