Jeff Stelling has predicted a 1-0 defeat for Newcastle United when they play Burnley on Saturday.
The Magpies go into the game on the back of a three game unbeaten run, but will be without enigmatic winger Allan Saint-Maximin, who is ruled out with a hamstring injury.
And taking that blow into consideration, Stelling foresees a gloomy afternoon at Turf Moor for the travelling Toon Army.
Speaking to Sky Sports, he said: “Newcastle are in decent form, but the loss of Allan Saint-Maximin will be a big blow.
“The lack of firepower up front will allow Burnley to get back to their old ways of keeping clean sheets at Turf Moor and earning three points.”
OPINION
Make no mistake, losing Saint-Maximin is a huge blow for the Toon Army. The wide man has really come into his own in recent weeks, and after a slow start in England, he was beginning to look like a player who can cause serious damage. So far this term he has averaged 4.5 successful dribbles per game, as per Whoscored, and that kind of creativity and directness is always going to be hard to replace. As for the match itself though, don’t rule the Toon Army out just yet. They’ve pulled performances out of the bag before with the chips down this season, and with the Clarets in a pretty bad place themselves, there’s no guarantee that they won’t do exactly that again. If they could, then the hype surrounding this side would surely burgeon a little more, and Steve Bruce would have to come in for yet more praise.
