West Ham dismantled Newcastle with ease, and Crystal Palace should have done the same. Newcastle didn’t even manage a shot on target. Before that, they had decent wins against Arsenal and Nottingham Forest, so it depends on which version of Newcastle turns up. Either way, their fans have every right to be worried—because even at their best, it feels like we would need to make some foolish errors to drop points here.
If Newcastle come to play football, they boast a technically solid midfield with Bruno Guimarães, Sandro Tonali, and Joe Willock. However, it’s not the most physical or athletic unit. We should be able to outwork them and take control, Salah, Díaz, Gakpo, and Núñez should have more than enough to exploit a backline that’s nowhere near the same without Sven Botman.
Dan Burn, for example, is likely one of the slowest players in the Premier League, and that’s why Eddie Howe will probably opt to park the bus and start time-wasting from as early as the 12th minute—the shithouse In that case, it we may need to capitalise on set pieces. Without Konaté, the responsibility falls to Virgil van Dijk, who really should be converting more chances. With his ability, he should be bagging at least 7+ goals a season. He's also had two brainfarts in the last two games, which could have been costly. It sounds a bit harsh because he's been excellent and arguably MOTM in the last game, but sharpening up those moments would be key at both ends of the pitch.
