Newcastle vs Crystal Palace: Preview and Prediction

Newcastle United prepares for their ultimate relegation battle when they take on bottom half side Crystal Palace on the matchday 36 of the English Premier League.

Coming on the back of two hard fought draws against two strong sides in the league, Newcastle will be high on confidence especially as the match is played at their home ground. The Magpies are 19th in the league table with 30 points after 35 matches, a point behind Norwich and Sunderland who have a match in hand. A win here may temporarily get them out of the relegation zone, but the equation is pretty clear, Newcastle must win the remaining three games to stay in the Premier League next season.

The Alan Pardew led Crystal Palace are at 16th position in the league table with 39 points and this is the lowest they can go as the season nears its end. The Eagles are nothing, but a big mess after winning just one match in the calendar year 2016 so far. The 2-1 win against Watford in the FA cup semifinal last weekend gives them a rare chance to win a silverware this season when they meet Manchester United at Wembley on 21st May 2016.

Form Comparison

• Newcastle United are unbeaten in their last three Premier League matches, with a win against Swansea, followed by draws against Manchester City and Liverpool.
• The Toons have scored a goal at least in their last 6 league games.
• Newcastle have won just once in their last 10 league matches, with 6 losses and 3 draws.
• At home, Newcastle have a good record in recent weeks and are unbeaten in 6 of their last 7 games, with 3 wins, 3 draws and a loss.
• Crystal Palace failed to win 17 of their last 18 matches in the English Premier League.
• At the same time, Palace have drawn 3, won 1 and lost 1 from their last 5 league matches.
• Away from home, Crystal Palace are without a win in their last 9 matches. They have drawn 3 of their last 4 games.

Newcastle United: Team News

Newcastle is missing 10 first team players through injuries since a while and this is hardly going to influence the team sheet for Saturday evening.

Benitez is likely to retain the same starting eleven he used in the 2-2 draw at Liverpool, with one change as Ayoze Perez is likely to make way for Georginio Wijnaldum.

Newcastle United: Predicted Starting Eleven (4-2-3-1)

Darlow,
Dummet, Mbemba, Lascelles, Anita
Colback, Tiote,
Wijnaldum, Sissoko, Townsend,
Mitrovic.

Crystal Palace: Team News

Kwesi Appiah, Marouane Chamakh and Brede Hangeland are the long terms absentees for Crystal Palace. Head-coach Alan Pardew has a fully fit squad at his disposal and expect to field the strongest possible line-up as he looks for all three points against his former employers.

Crystal Palace: Predicted Starting Eleven (4-2-3-1)

Hennessey,
Kelly, Dann, Delaney, Souare,
Cabaye, Jedinak,
Zaha, Puncheon, Bolasie,
Adebayor.

Newcastle United vs Crystal Palace: Head-to-Head Comparison

Crystal Palace are unbeaten in their last three meetings between the sides in EnglishPremier League, with a win and two draws.

However, Palace haven’t won in their last 5 visits to St. James Park in all competitions. Newcastle have won in 3 and drawn twice during the period. The Magpies have also kept clean sheets in 4 of those.

Newcastle United vs Crystal Palace: Prediction

Newcastle United desperately need a win in order to stand a chance to avoid relegation this season. The result is very important to them as Norwich and Sunderland have played a games less than them. The Toons have shown some improvement in recent weeks and was evident in the matches against Man City and Liverpool. They could go into this game with good spirit and confidence.

Crystal Palace are a struggling side and if not for the good work done in the first half of the season, they will be closer to Aston Villa in the league standings. The win against Watford in the FA cup semis last weekend is hardly going to make a difference to their confidence. They are looking at another defeat against a very determined Newcastle side.

I expect Newcastle to put an inspired performance on Saturday evening against Crystal Palace. They looked very organized in the recent matches and if they manage to keep their concentration for full 90 minutes, they can come out with a good win here. And I believe they will do that.

My prediction for this match is a 3-1 win for Newcastle.