Newcastle United is back on the road as they travel to Bournemouth in the Premier League to follow up their Champions League trip to Dortmund.
Eddie Howe will now take his Newcastle team to the house of his former employers after witnessing his team lose in Germany. Howe is very much loved at Bournemouth, and in spite of their present difficulties, they would really love to have him back.
With just six points in the league, Andoni Iraola’s Cherries are currently 18th in the league after a difficult start to the season.
They might, nevertheless, view the matchup with Newcastle as an opportunity to surprise everyone. The Magpies’ injured list is already quite large, and on Saturday, the team may be even smaller.
Callum Wilson is also questionable after being substituted during halftime of the Dortmund loss, and Bruno Guimaraes is suspended for the match against Bournemouth.
Newcastle won’t be playing at full strength, which might produce an unexpected outcome.
Gary Neville thinks Newcastle will draw with Bournemouth
In the most recent episode of the Stick To Football podcast, Gary Neville made a score prediction between Bournemouth and Newcastle.
Ian Wright has backed Newcastle to win 2-0, but Neville actually thinks it will be a draw.
“It’s been a tough week for Newcastle,” he said.
“Travelling, it’s about three days to get to Bournemouth from Newcastle. I don’t think it will be 2-0. I think Bournemouth will score. A draw is a controversial result. I’d go 2-2.”
A draw would be disappointing for Newcastle
Even though Newcastle’s roster is currently extremely thin, it’s reasonable to argue that a draw against Bournemouth on Saturday would be a disappointing outcome.
Newcastle is away from home following a Champions League match for the fourth consecutive time. They drew 2-2 with Wolves and West Ham in their previous two games, so a similar outcome against Bournemouth would be disappointing.
This season, Newcastle’s road performance is lacking. Only once, following a Champions League match, have we triumphed away from St. James’ Park, defeating Sheffield United 8 to 0.
A repeat of something like that would be much more palatable for the Toon Army, who want to witness a positive result ahead of yet another international break.
Ian Wright thinks they will get one, but Gary Neville does not.
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