England Premier League
Saturday 4th November 2023
Kick off at 5:30pm GMT
Venue: St James' Park
Match Preview:
This could be the game of the weekend as Newcastle attempt to inflict the first defeat of the season on Arsenal. Newcastle need to win this game because even though their form has improved since the beginning of the season they would start to lose touch with the front runners with defeat here and could be as much as 12 points behind the league leaders come the end of the weekend.
Recent form has been decent from Eddie Howe’s team with no defeats and 11 points won from the last 15. Questions will remain on their away form where they haven’t been as stable but at home they have won 4 from 5 games only losing against Liverpool. Their last home game ended in a 4-0 hammering of Crystal Palace and they have also put 5 goals past Aston Villa here.
Arsenal are seven points in front of Newcastle and are in 2nd place but are two points shy of 1st placed Tottenham. The Gunners would go top with a win as Tottenham don’t play until Monday, although if Manchester City win big at home to Bournemouth they would go top instead on goal difference. Arsenal have been solid so far and last weekend they beat Sheffield United 5-0 at home. The only small hiccup which ended up being a great result was their 2-2 draw away to Chelsea, as the Gunners found themselves 2-0 down but fought back even though they didn’t play too well. Arsenal are right in the title hunt and this game will be a very good test to see where the players are at. Away from home the Gunners have won 10 points from 12 but it could be argued have not faced any top 10 side yet given Chelsea’s poor start to the season. There was disappointment in midweek for Arsenal though as they were knocked out of the EFL Cup by London rivals West Ham going down 3-1 in the end even though they dominated possession.
Team News:
Newcastle: The big news is that Sandro Tonali is banned for 10 months for betting violations. Alexander Isak is out for at least three weeks as he continues to recover from his groin injury. Javier Manquillo has the same problem and looks like he will miss the fixture. Lewis Miley has been ruled out until next week because of illness, Matt Targett is out with his hamstring, Jacob Murphy is sidelined with a shoulder injury. Elliot Anderson and Harvey Barnes are both out until the end of the year at the earliest and Sven Botman is out long term with his knee injury.
Arsenal: Gabriel Jesus misses out with a hamstring injury and he isn’t due back for a month. Thomas Partey is out with a muscle injury, Emile Smith-Rowe is sidelined with a knee injury with no fixed return date, it is the same case with Jurrien Timber.
Newcastle vs Arsenal Head to Head:
Last season Arsenal won this fixture 2-0.
Newcastle have only beaten Arsenal once in the last 11 meetings.
The last five meetings have all seen under 2.5 goals.
In the last 22 meetings there has only been 1 0-0 draw although that did happen in 2022.
Newcastle vs Arsenal Prediction:
Newcastle have vastly improved and they seem ahead of schedule given the investment that has now been ploughed into the club. They are already playing Champions League football for example but they will start to lose ground if they drop points this weekend. When questions have been asked the Magpies have rarely delivered against the bigger and stronger sides. They are at home and they are making the place a very difficult stadium to come to. They are also suffering more injuries though.
Arsenal look stronger mentality now and that was shown when they should have lost to Chelsea the other week. This game then looks a doable one for the Gunners but could well end in a draw and the best choice could well be to cover the draw on a refund. Newcastle can win this of course but we’re not convinced they are ready and Alexander Isak and Tonali are a big loss.
Newcastle vs Arsenal Betting Tips:
Draw no bet (Arsenal) at 1.82
1st Half Correct Score: 0-0 or 1-0 to Arsenal at 2.75 and 4.33
Anytime goalscorer: Gabriel Martinelli at 4.00
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