Michael Owen has predicted that Newcastle United will draw their Premier League clash against Southampton on Sunday.
The Magpies climbed to 11th in the table with a win over Sheffield United on Thursday night, but ex-Toon striker Owen foresees a sharing of the spoils at St. James’ Park this weekend.
Speaking to Bet Victor, he said: “Newcastle have won their last two home games against Southampton in the Premier League – scoring six times in the process – but I feel they may have to settle for a point against a Saints side who were, arguably, unfortunate not to beat Arsenal in their last away league game.
“Back-to-back home wins this week has seen the Saints move out of the relegation places and I expect them to build on those victories with a draw at St James’ Park on Sunday.”
OPINION
This is one of those games that could go either way, to be fair. The Magpies have made a habit of taking two steps forward and one back so far this term, and the Saints have put in a couple of decent outings over the past week after a fairly dire start to the season. Against Norwich City in midweek they had just 40% possession, but did muster 14 shots to the Canaries’ 10, as per BBC. They should expect to have more of the ball against the Toon Army, who had just 27% possession on their way to a 2-0 win over the Blades, as per the BBC. That stat is far from flattering, but given the pace they now have with Allan Saint-Maximin and Miguel Almiron in wide positions, they can afford to sit back and hit teams on the break. As long as they are as solid at the back as they have been in recent weeks, there is no reason why they couldn’t sneak something against the Saints.
