Newcastle United travel to Bramall Lane to face Sheffield United on Sunday, in what Paul Merson believes is a ‘must-win’ game for the Magpies.
Eddie Howe’s side face the Blades on the back of a well earned point in the Champions League. They drew 0-0 with AC Milan at the San Siro, producing a resolute defensive display.
But Newcastle were poor in attack, and will need to be much better against Sheffield United.
The Magpies have at least got back to winning ways in the Premier League, beating Brentford last time out. Callum Wilson scored the only goal of the game, and will hopefully start at Bramall Lane on Sunday.
This is another winnable game for Howe’s side, but it will not be easy after the energy-sapping draw in Milan. And following their European efforts, Paul Merson is tipping Newcastle to make it back-to-back Premier League victories at Sheffield United’s expense.
Paul Merson predicts Newcastle will beat Sheffield United on Sunday
In his latest column for Sportskeeda, Paul Merson has predicted that Newcastle will win 3-0 against Sheffield United at Bramall Lane this weekend. If that is the case, it will be the Magpies’ first away win of the season.
“I feel this is a must-win for Newcastle, while for Sheffield, this is a ‘must get something’ kind of game,” he said.
“The Magpies were fortunate not to lose against AC Milan on their UEFA Champions League return and have been nowhere close to what they were last season.
“In my opinion, they are already out of the title race and could face an uphill battle to secure a top-four spot if they don’t string together a run of wins.
“Sheffield, meanwhile, are already up against it and have already lost a handful of winnable games. I think it’ll get worse for them this weekend as Newcastle have enough pace and quality to hurt them.”
Merson thinks Newcastle are out of the title race
While Merson thinks that Newcastle will win convincingly on Sunday, he does not believe it will be enough to salvage the Magpies’ title bid. But that begs one vital question: What title bid?!
It is crazy to see pundits suggest that we even had a chance of challenging for the title. Just getting back in the top four would be an achievement, and even that will be extremely difficult.
The media often talk about lofty expectations on Tyneside, but they are the ones with the expectations!
But while Merson is pretty negative about Newcastle in their current incarnation, he does at least believe that they will win on Sunday. Hopefully he is correct, as we really need to start building up some momentum after a slow start to the season.
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