Newcastle United host Swansea City at St. James’ Park this Sunday, looking to avoid their second consecutive home defeat of the season.
The Magpies found themselves tasting defeat last week at the hands of West Ham United as former player Kevin Nolan scored the only goal of the game in his return to the club.
Newcastle were without captain and defender Fabricio Coloccini and midfield enforcer Cheick Tiote, and therefore struggled in the physical department.
West Ham dominated the hosts and won most of the midfield battles, with Mohamed Diame running rampant amidst the Newcastle players.
This week’s game against Swansea poses a stern challenge for the Magpies, who have so far been far from convincing in their performances. Swansea City dished out two consecutive draws against http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Chelsea-c38786 and Southampton recently, and have the firepower to cause
an upset while going forward.
Swansea’s attacking potency will prove to be a problem for Newcastle, who have been struggling going forward. http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Alan-c4244 Pardew will however be pleased with Tiote’s return, and will be hopeful that the player can inspire his side to a result.
Newcastle United
Expected starting line-up:
Tim Krul, Davide Santon, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Demba-Ba-c10812.
Newcastle will welcome back Cheick Tiote as the holding midfielder returns from his three-match suspension. The player has been an important part of the team, but his disciplinary record has become a cause for concern lately with him averaging a yellow card
every other game.
Fabricio Coloccini is still out as he serves his three-match ban following the reckless tackle on Luis Suarez in the game against http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Liverpool-c39809. Though Newcastle will miss the Argentinian, who has been described as a ‘warrior’ by Alan Pardew, they still have
a solid back four.
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Davide-Santon-c10658 is the man to watch out for at the back. The Italian’s impressive performances for Newcastle led to his first national team call-up in over 20 months, and he’ll be looking to continue his good form.
The midfield looks compact, with Cabaye and Tiote in the middle and Gutierrez and Ben Arfa on the wings. Up front, Ba and Cisse will start as part of the traditional 4-4-2 formation.
Swansea City
Expected starting line-up:
Gerhard Tremmel, Ashley Williams, Garry Monk, Angel Rangel, Ben Davies, Leon Britten, Pablo Hernandez, Wayne Routledge, Ki Sung-Yeung, Michu, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Jonathan-c18993 De Guzman.
Swansea are still without first choice goalkeeper http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Michel-Vorm-c25482, who suffered an injury against Manchester City last month.
However, they have the rest of their squad fit and ready to travel to St. James’ Park. At the back, Swansea will play their regular starting back 4. The team has had some defensive issues in the past, but overall look solid at the back.
This was clear to see in the games against Manchester City and Chelsea, where Swansea managed to hold both teams to a draw. In the middle, the main man for the Swans is the impressive and in-form Michu. The Spanish star is the highest goal-scoring midfielder
in the league currently, and is a focal point of Swansea’s attack.
Pablo Hernandez is another key player out on the wing, with Wayne Routledge on the other flank and Sung-Yeung providing cover from the central midfield position.
Predicted Final Score: 1-1
I expect this game to end as a draw, with both sides scoring 1 goal a-piece. Demba Ba and Michu to feature on the score sheet as both teams see out a stalemate.
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