A win against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday will move Newcastle United six points clear of the North London side, and pundit Paul Merson believes that is exactly what will happen.
Newcastle welcome Tottenham to St James’ Park this weekend, in a game that will have a huge impact on the race to qualify for the Champions League.
The Magpies are in a very strong position right now, and will look even more comfortable in the top four if they beat Spurs. However, the nerves will begin to set in if it is Cristian Stellini’s side who come out on top.
Both teams go into the game on the back of a loss. Newcastle were battered by Aston Villa last time out, losing 3-0. It was our worst performance of the season. As for Spurs, they suffered a crushing defeat to Bournemouth, who scored a 95th minute winner.
Howe and Stellini will be hoping for a response from their players, but Merson thinks it is the home side who will come out on top in what he believes is a ‘massive match’.
Paul Merson thinks Newcastle will beat Tottenham
As part of his latest column for Sportskeeda, Merson has predicted the result of every Premier League game this weekend. He believes Newcastle will beat Spurs 2-1 on Sunday, but has a rather strange opinion on Eddie Howe’s future at the club.
“Eddie Howe has been brilliant for Newcastle but if they keep losing games like they did last week, things could change,” he wrote.
“They’ve got to get into the top four now. A couple of big defeats and the board will start wondering how far Eddie Howe can take this team.
“This is a massive match. Both teams had absolute shockers last week. I thought Tottenham were definitely going to beat Bournemouth. Their season’s on the line, and if they lose this game, that’ll be it. If they lose to Newcastle, they’ll be lucky if they finish in fifth place.
“If Newcastle lose this game, alarm bells will start ringing – they need to raise their standards. Eddie Howe needs a big result, and I think they’ll pull it off against Tottenham this week.”
Eddie Howe going nowhere no matter what happens this season
It is great that Merson thinks we will beat Spurs, but what on earth is he going on about regarding Howe’s future?!
Yes, we lost quite convincingly last weekend. But it is the first time that has happened all season. We massively underperform in one game and suddenly Merson is talking about Howe’s future at the club.
He thinks the owners will question the manager if he fails to deliver Champions League football, but that certainly won’t be the case. The fact we are even in the conversation is impressive enough. Sure, it will be disappointing if we don’t finish in the top four, but it will be far from a disaster.
Some of these pundits really need to get perspective. They complain that certain people aren’t given enough time, but then speculate that they could be sacked after just one defeat.
Merson expects a response, and thinks Newcastle will beat Spurs. Win, lose or draw, Howe’s future will not be up for debate.
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