Foot & Soccer Soccer Match Reports, Football NewsFollowing the second international break of the season Newcastle United will enter a set of five fixtures (before the third international break in early November!!) that will give a clear indication of how the 2024/25 season could ultimately shape up.
The relatively kind opening seven games of the season will give way to a series of five tough looking fixtures that will certainly set the tone for the remainder of the season.
For context: after a tough start to the 2022/23 Champion’s League qualification campaign United had taken just seven points from their first seven league games. In the subsequent run, that the took us right up to that season’s winter World Cup in Qatar, Newcastle won 22 points from the next eight league games to really ignite the fuse on a fabulous run that culminated in the League Cup final and the 4th place finish.
So, let’s examine the next five games:
Brighton (H) – St. James’ Park, 19 October
Brighton have had good start to the season. They have the exact same record as Newcastle, are playing some pleasing football on the eye, and have beaten Man Utd and Spurs, and drawn with Arsenal.
They’ve scored 13 goals and conceded ten (the only side in the top half to concede double figures) and they took Yankuba Minteh off us in the summer and he has looked decent so far this season.
In 32 league and cup matches Newcastle have won 11 and lost 12 against the Seagulls and have taken some bad beatings against them, one as recently as last year at the Amex.
However, for all their passing fluidity, Fabian Hürzeler’s side have looked vulnerable at the back as they play an incredibly high defensive line, which Chelsea really showed up in their only defeat of the season. That game finished 4-2 but it really could’ve been anything that afternoon.
A tough fixture for sure but certainly not unwinnable. If Isak is fit and Brighton continue to play with the high line (which they will) then we’ve seen what the lad can do against that…
Source link : https://www.nufcblog.co.uk/2024/10/16/newcastles-next-five-a-defining-month/
Author : Jonathan Young
Publish date : 2024-10-16 06:28:45
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