Paul Merson is expecting goals from Newcastle United against Crystal Palace.
Eddie Howe’s side fired a blank on Monday night, as Newcastle United lost 2-0 to West Ham.
It was an extremely disappointing performance from the Magpies. Newcastle were not clever enough in and around the box, and became more and more desperate as the game dragged on.
They lost a game they were expected to win – and win comfortably. Paul Merson had tipped Newcastle to beat West Ham 3-0, while a lot of Toon fans were very confident heading into that game.
Now Eddie Howe needs a response from his players, as Newcastle United aim to bounce back away to Crystal Palace.
Paul Merson predicts Crystal Palace vs Newcastle
Paul Merson working as a pundit for Sky Sports during the Premier League match between Manchester City FC and Arsenal FC at Etihad Stadium on Septe...
Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images
After incorrectly predicting that Newcastle United would win last week, Paul Merson is not backing the Magpies to pick up three points on this occasion.
As part of his weekly column for Sportskeeda, the former Arsenal forward and Strictly Come Dancing star has backed Crystal Palace and Newcastle to play out a draw on Saturday afternoon.
MORE NEWCASTLE STORIES
“When you talk about results from last weekend, the one that I did not see coming was Newcastle losing to West Ham,” he said.
“I was expecting them to turn up and win easily. That is a really bad loss for Newcastle in my opinion. It baffles me how they ended up losing to that West Ham team.
“They now face Crystal Palace, who I thought were really good away from home against Aston Villa last time out. They looked like a serious threat on the counter and used pace to their advantage. You could say Palace rode their luck at times in that game, but so did Villa.
“Palace are 19th at the moment and will now face an uphill battle to avoid relegation. Southampton are the only team with fewer goals than them this season, so that’s an area where they must improve if they want to survive in this division.
“I can definitely see Newcastle scoring in this game, but I have a feeling Palace can match them.”
Merson’s prediction: Crystal Palace 2 Newcastle United 2
Paul Merson expects goals from shy Newcastle United
Against West Ham, Merson backed Newcastle United to score three. Against Crystal Palace, he is expecting two.
His West Ham prediction was wrong, while his Crystal Palace claim feels very ambitious.
Newcastle United have been very inconsistent this season, with goals proving to be their biggest problem. That is not something that has ever been said during Eddie Howe’s tenure as Toon boss.
So far this season, the Magpies have scored 17 goals in all competitions. Alexander Isak is top scorer with five, and he is followed by Harvey Barnes on four.
Newcastle have only scored more than two goals in a game once so far, and that was in the 3-1 win over Nottingham Forest.
Nothing about Newcastle United this season screams goals, but the return of Callum Wilson will hopefully change that.
Wilson made his return from injury against West Ham on Monday, and the hope will be that he enjoys a sustained spell of fitness. If he does, he will bring goals, as he has never struggled to find the net in a Newcastle United shirt.
His return is a big boost, and it will be interesting to see how Eddie Howe utilises him alongside Alexander Isak.
Related Posts