England Premier League
Saturday 21st December 2019
Kick off at 3pm GMT
Venue: St. James' Park
Match Preview:
Newcastle have punched above their weight and surprised some along the way, especially how they started the season under Steve Bruce. The club did lose their last game away to Burnley but in general form has been good. The Magpies are in 11th place with 22 points and a win at the weekend could take them into the top 10.
Home form is good and Newcastle have not lost at St James' since August and have only been defeated once there all season. They are tending to draw too many games at home, 4 so far although their last home match ended in a 2-1 win over Southampton.
Crystal Palace are in 9th place and have one more point than their hosts so this is a chance to extend a gap over them. A win could take the Eagles up 3-4 places depending on results. Form has been good as the club come into this game unbeaten in their last 4 matches, although their last two did end in draws.
What has been telling is that Palace have lost just one game away in their last five and have pulled off some good results like drawing to Arsenal and beating West Ham. Then again they drew and couldn’t score against bottom club Watford lately also.
Team News:
Newcastle: Miguel Almiron has a hamstring injury and he will face a late test. Karl Darlow is being tipped to be back for this match. Jonjo Shelvey is 50/50 after his calf strain and Allan Saint-Maximin will miss the next 3-4 weeks due to his hamstring injury
Crystal Palace: Gary Cahill has a knock but it could rule him out for the rest of the year. Scott Dann faces a late test after a muscle injury. Mamadou Sakho is still suspended after his red card v Bournemouth. Jairo Riedewald has a knock and will face a late test. Andros Townsend is out with a knock. Joel Ward is out for at least a month with a knee injury and Jeffrey Schlupp has a long term muscle injury
Newcastle vs Crystal Palace Head to Head:
Last season Palace won this fixture 1-0.
The last 5 meetings have all ended in under 2.5 goals.
Newcastle have not beaten Palace since 2017 home or away.
Newcastle vs Crystal Palace Prediction:
There is very little value around in this match, it's evenly matched and a draw wouldn't be a surprise, and it's likely to not have many goals, and the bookies know this. So the bottom line here is that Palace’s injuries are mounting up and they are going to a tough ground where Newcastle have not lost in 4 months. We feel Newcastle have the rub of the green here and their last match before Christmas could be a memorable one. Palace know how to spring surprises of course but we think that the Magpies have a chance to edge this encounter. We will also back Joelinton to pop up and get a goal, he is due one and there is nothing like scoring at home to get the confidence going.
Newcastle vs Crystal Palace Betting Tips:
Asian handicap (0.0 Newcastle) at 1.625
Anytime goalscorer: Joelinton at 3.75
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