Nottingham Forest-Newcastle is a match of the twenty-fourth day of the Premier League and is played on Saturday at 6:30 pm: live TV, probable formations, predictions.
Among the most entertaining matches of the last weekend was the one between Newcastle and Luton Town, who drew 4-4 in the match at St James’ Park. The Magpies had a really rough time of it: half an hour before the final whistle they were down by as many as two goals but within a few minutes they brought the score back to even thanks to goals by Trippier and Barnes. A small step backward – especially in terms of the non-possession phase of the ball – for the Bianconeri, who a few days earlier had delivered a stern lesson (1-3) to Aston Villa, currently the fourth force in the league.
In the standings Newcastle is forced to chase, and the feeling is that it will be very difficult to place in the top four again as it did last season. Eddie Howe’s team today is only ninth and if the Premier League ended now it would be out of everything. Sixth place, however, is still within Trippier and co.’s reach: claudicant Manchester United, for example, is only five points ahead, although ahead of the Magpies are other teams such as West Ham and Brighton. In short, getting into the European cups for the second year in a row will not be at all easy for this Newcastle side, which is too seesaw.
Newcastle limps away from home
The Magpies have struggled away this year: excluding Birmingham’s success with Aston Villa, away from home they have barely won a game, racking up only 8 points.
Reason why the challenge with Nottingham Forest, entangled in the fight not to relegate and in need of salvation points, should not be a walk in the park. The Tricky Trees have regrouped thanks to the arrival of new coach Nuno Espirito Santo, but they seem to have already lost their propulsive drive: in the last three days they have collected only one point, the result of an away draw at home to Bournemouth, and they remain fifth-last.
The Prediction
It won’t be easy at all for Newcastle to make a full haul at City Ground. In any case, the Magpies should avoid defeat, taking advantage of Forest’s FA Cup commitment this week. We predict a match of at least one goal per side.
The likely lineups for Nottingham Forest-Newcastle
NOTTINGHAM FOREST (4-2-3-1): Sels; Williams, Niakhaté, Felipe, Tavares; Yates, Danilo; Elanga, Gibbs-White, Hudson-Odoi; Awoniyi.
NEWCASTLE (4-3-3): Dubravka; Trippier, Schar, Botman, Burn; Miley, Bruno Guimaraes, Longstaff; Murphy, Wilson, Almiron.
POSSIBLE RESULT: 1-1
