Newcastle United are back in Premier League action this weekend as they take on Burnley in one of those 3pm Saturday kick-offs we’ve heard so much about.
Coming off the back of four confidence-boosting results, Newcastle will be looking to make it a fifth when Vincent Kompany bring his Burnley side to St James’ Park on Saturday.
Burnley, like the other two promoted sides this season, are yet to pick up a win in the Premier League but have looked the better side of the newcomers.
Peter Crouch is giving Burnley more credit than most
After demolishing promoted side Sheffield United last weekend, Newcastle should be feeling confident of another top performance and three points against Burnley.
However, Peter Crouch is not so convinced. Speaking on That Peter Crouch Podcast, the lanky former striker has made a surprise prediction.
“I’m going to go 1-1. It’s a three game week. Everyone will say Newcastle but I think Burnley are better than you think,” said Crouch.
Newcastle should have more than enough to see off Burnley
Eddie Howe made 10 changes to the side that took on Manchester City on Wednesday, and even though top players like Anthony Gordon and Bruno Guimaraes did end up playing a large chunk of the game, you’d like to think that most of the regular starting XI got a decent enough rest to be ready for Burnley.
To be honest, at this point of the season, there shouldn’t be any real issue with a three-game week, that kind of fatigue is more likely to build up and be more of an issue towards the back-end of the season.
Had this been an away game I could maybe see where Crouch was coming from, but at St James’ Park, off the back of knocking last season’s treble winners out of a cup, I just don’t see Burnley getting anything.
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