Newcastle United will play Bournemouth at St James’ Park on Saturday at 3 p.m.
Eddie Howe welcomes his former team to the North East as he assembles another starting eleven that will be lacking a genuine striker, with both Alexander Isak and Callum Wilson out due to injury.
Bournemouth, too, is dealing with injuries and suspensions, so they will not be riding high.
Merson is expecting goals on Saturday
Howe’s record versus Bournemouth should be better, with only one win in four meetings, but we expect it to treble by 5 p.m. on Saturday.
In his score prediction for Sportskeeda, Paul Merson states right away that he expects goals, and even though Newcastle will play without a known striker, there are still plenty of goals in the team, as we witnessed this week.
“Newcastle got a really good result against Forest and I expect them to win once again this weekend. I can see a few goals in this one, so I’m going for a 2-1 home win.
“Getting into Europe should be the name of the game for Eddie Howe and Co. They are a bit behind the eight-ball in the race for a top-four finish, but they still have enough games to secure a spot in the UEFA Europa League or the Conference League. When Newcastle finished fourth last season, I thought it happened a bit too early for them.
“Had they got into one of the other two competitions, they’d have been more comfortable and might have even had a chance of going all the way. They haven’t won a trophy since god knows how long and need to get their hands on silverware soon.
“Prediction:Â Newcastle United 2-1 Bournemouth”
Even when we’re being praised we’re being put down
Merson did not name Bournemouth, but he believes they will score.
However, we’d rather go unmentioned than have someone remind us how long it’s been since we’ve raised silverware.
Merson’s estimate is decent, but we expect even more goals, but we have no idea where they will come from.
