Chris Sutton has now predicted what the score will be in Newcastle United’s trip to Blackburn Rovers later tonight.
Eddie Howe will be desperate to secure a place in the FA Cup quarter final and put their heavy and disappointing defeat to Arsenal far behind them.
In his predictions for BBC Sport, Sutton suggested that Newcastle could indeed ‘run away’ with this game as Blackburn’s struggling form in the second division continues.
Sutton predicts easy win for Newcastle
Although they haven’t really showed it of late, Newcastle do have a lot of quality in that squad and the return of injured players like Alexander Isak and Joe Willock should give them a big boost ahead of the game.
They may be drifting down the Premier League table but a European spot is still in Newcastle’s sights and the best thing they can hope for is that Blackburn somewhat underestimate them because of their form.
Howe could look to go with his strongest starting 11 given the fact they are no longer playing twice a week and a lot of pressure has been placed on this cup run for Howe’s future at the club.
Similarly, Blackburn have suffered a disappointing season after almost reaching the playoffs last year and now they’re just four points off of the drop and new manager John Eustace is finding life at Ewood Park tough.
On the game, Sutton said: “I scored in an FA Cup tie for Blackburn against Newcastle a few years ago – it was a wonderful finish, but we ended up losing in a replay, and I can see the Magpies getting through this time too.
“Blackburn drew at the weekend in the ‘Chris Sutton derby’ against my first club, Norwich, but they are yet to win in four games under new manager John Eustace, and I don’t see him getting a first victory here.
“Newcastle boss Eddie Howe really needs the FA Cup now, to recover a bit of faith with the fans after some disappointing results, including their heavy defeat by Arsenal on Saturday.
“Howe’s side should win, because they have got the superior players and I actually feel as if they will run away with this one a little bit.”
Sutton’s prediction: 1-3
It’s FA Cup or bust for Newcastle
With Newcastle’s form suffering in the league, it’s now looking like Champions League football is completely out of the window with the team currently 15 points off of top four.
There’s a lot of pressure on Howe to get a result at Blackburn now, particularly after Newcastle were embarrassed at the weekend against Arsenal, and make a good run at the cup.
Should the Geordies make it back-to-back trips to Wembley and are still in with a shout of playing European football next season then suddenly the season becomes less of a big disappointment.
It’s all still up in the air, of course, but beating Blackburn could be the boost that this Newcastle squad need to just turn their form around.
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