Game Week 38, as the Premier League calls it, is hurtling towards at the speed of light or at the pace of the tortoise from Aesop’s fable depending on how you view the challenge presented by this weekend’s game against Everton at St James’ Park.
Three more points is all United need to crown what has already been an amazing season (we won a bloody trophy!) with Champions League football and I’m supremely confident we will be celebrating come 17:30 on Sunday evening.
**Home Form + Atmosphere**
United are in excellent form, especially at SJP, where it’s six wins in a row and 12 wins from the last 15 – including huge wins over Chelsea, Man Utd, Forest and Arsenal in the League Cup.
Eddie Howe has built our transformation on our home form, and I don’t see this changing here – and Paul Dummett isn’t around to Stone Cold Stunner anyone this time either.
The atmosphere will be a heady mix of feverish and nervous, with the combination of a Bank Holiday, booze, two free pints at SJP and a 16:00 kick off giving those that partake plenty of time to lubricate their voices.
Wor Flags will undoubtedly bring their best for a game that is likely to have a cup final feel – and Eddie Howe’s Mags have proven over the last ten months that a big atmosphere usually equals a big performance from the team.
**Isak and Everton’s Defence**
Isak should be ok, he’s played through a groin nibble in recent months and has been called up by Sweden. Whilst that is not a 100% guarantee of fitness – you would hope to think the Swedish medical team would’ve reached out about their star striker before calling him up. And we all know Eddie Howe is precautionary when it comes to injuries.
From an Everton point of view, their backline is crippled by injury with Tarkowski, Coleman and Branthwaite out (Mangala and Lindstrom our out too) and their big moment of the season was saying goodbye to Goodison Park last weekend which many a football fan and reporter who was there has said was emotionally draining, as the curtain was brought down on 130+ years of men’s football history at the old ground.
If there was ever a definition of a side that has nothing to play for it is this Everton team – they can’t even move a place in the table, up or down. Yes, they have a Mackem radge packet in net, but he really isn’t worth getting knickers in a twist about.
**New-Newcastle United**
It still takes a little shaking off, but this is not the Newcastle United of old, Wembley on the 16th March being the ultimate showcase of the new mentality the squad and club possess as United dismantled the best team in the country – and the question you must ask yourself (as many pundits have this week) would you trade fixtures with any of our rivals for the top five this weekend? Villa, maybe, but our goal difference is so superior to theirs, it’s worth an extra point.
The team is laced with winners now – Tonali, Botman, and Trippier had all won trophies before arriving on Tyneside and their mentality has clearly grown throughput the squad as we’ve seen in spades this season. Throw in the Carabao Cup win and the mentality is really blossoming amongst everyone at the club.
Ultimately, it’s in our hands. No permutations necessary, nothing to worry about. We just need three points and we’re in.
One more big push. A final hurrah. One last huge effort in 2024/25 – from players, the fans, and the city and the wider fanbase and Champions League football will be back on Tyneside next season. HWTL