Opposition report: Newcastle (H)

Looking to home comforts after a bruising skirmish in North London.

We’ve not done this for a while…

For those interested, we handed out 100 fanzines for free against Spurs. For one reason and another (explained in the link), we have 100 spares.

If you’d like to buy one, click this link.

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Sam Parry

I was there at Spurs and the result was as gutting as it was half-expected. When the twelve minutes went up, I didn’t think we would hold out for three points, but neither did I think we’d lose.

I could rant about the new directives for added time. But Ben Meakin (BladesPod) has accurately summarised a view I wholeheartedly share. Namely, that jeopardy in football is being killed by a miscalculation from the rule-makers about what is and isn’t good for the game.

So we turn to Newcastle, or at least, they turn to us. Off the back of a 0-0 draw away at AC Milan in midweek, and a 1-0 home win against Brentford last weekend, we can hope they’re going to be knackered. At the very least, I expect their starting XI to be somewhat weaker than it might’ve been, either for reasons of omission or tiredness. That’s a trend common to teams entering the Champions League for the first time in a long time. Although, it doesn’t mean to say their XI will be weak; it won’t be.

Newcastle XI vs AC Milan:

Newcastle XI vs Brentford:

The keeper, the back four, Bruno Guimarães, Sean Longstaff and Anthony Gordon have all played twice in a week. That’s eight players who, if they start against the Blades on Sunday, will have played three times in eight days. So some rotation is pretty likely.

Nevertheless, I expect an under-a-tiny-bit-of-pressure Eddie Howe will avoid too many risks in a game that offers Newcastle back-to-back wins in the Premier League. I fancy Callum Wilson to start; he scored the winner against Brentford. But I also fancy the Blades to pose more threat than we have shown in any game so far - it’s the first time we’ll see McAtee at home with some options around him.

McBurnie, who has been our best player this season, is banned after his red at Spurs. And perversely, I think this might suit us against Newcastle (I’d rather have him, but it might coax some cannier play). Hear me out: His omission makes it more likely that we play a bell-clear 3-4-2-1. Norwood comes in, and Hamer moves closer to McAtee. That means Souza, who has been immense without the ball, and lacking with it, is freer to focus on his strengths. Norwood can then be relied upon to build the attacks and keep possession (something we really struggled with against Spurs without him). And that gives McAtee/Hamer/Archer a chance to make an impact higher up. Agree?

Riley Roberts

Fresh from their Milanese excitement, Newcastle will have been swiftly brought back down to Earth (much faster than they left the ground after a delayed flight from Newcastle). Gone is the glamour tie, replaced by a trip down the M1 to Sheffield.

Domestically, it’s been up and down for Eddie Howe’s Magpies. An opening day demolition of Aston Villa set the bar extremely high, but they failed to live up to those expectations in subsequent defeats to Brighton and 10-man Liverpool. One thing you would have to say though is that their strength of schedule has been extremely unkind to them, every side they have faced so far finished in the top 9 last season.

As a team, Newcastle are built on a relentless energy and desire to win. With the greatest of respect, some of their side that finished 4th last season have nowhere near the quality to be UCL-level players, but they make up for that with their incredible work ethic. The main area where this energy is prevalent is their midfield three. Nowadays they set up with Joelinton, Bruno Guimaraes and Tonali as their main three and that group allows them to be really aggressive — all of them cover ground really well with plenty of energy.

But their main strength though is superb defensive solidity. They had just the second least xG against in the Premier League last season and they do it by keeping the spaces for teams to attack into to a minimum. When defending deep they sit in a 4-5-1 and the sheer strength in numbers allows them to soak up pressure well and close off any gaps. It wouldn’t be a stretch at all to suggest that they are one of the most well-drilled teams in the division. 

One of the main threats here will be defending set pieces. No team has conceded more xG from set-pieces this season than us (2.96) and although that number is inflated by Doucoure’s high xG goal against us for Everton, everyone knows that conceding from crosses has been a real problem for us since returning to the Premier League. Unfortunately for us, only Ashley Young has attempted more passes from dead-ball situations than Newcastle’s Kieran Trippier, and his 7 assists last season certainly show how dangerous he can be when whipping in a cross.

Another individual who has been massive for them this season is Anthony Gordon. Many have criticised him in the past, myself included. But this season he has breathed life into Newcastle’s attack. The winger is in their top 3 players for expected goals + assists per 90 this season, and his directness has filled the gap left behind by Allan Saint-Maximin when it comes to carrying the ball up the pitch and taking a man on. He’s also been the 5th most fouled player in the Premier League this season which is a massive part of his game because he’s extremely frustrating to defend against and can force defenders into making rash challenges. He’s not the only man in the top 5 we’ll be facing. Bruno Guimaraes is 3rd for fouls drawn and the technically gifted midfielder is another player to look out for on Sunday.

One thing which can give us a little bit of a boost though, is that there is likely to be some squad rotation from Newcastle due to the fact that this will be their 3rd game in 8 days. But even then, their squad will likely contain fresh quality in the form of Harvey Barnes who scored 13 league goals last season for Leicester and has had a bright start to his career in black and white.

Sam Parry

Realistically, we have to chalk up home games against every team bar City and Arsenal as targets for points. We’ve got to be more positive on the ball, and actually try and build something from the back.

I think we’ll start strong and go for the jugular in the hope we can score early, defend a lead, and bring on substitutes (like Traore) for the counter later in the game. We missed that counter-threat against Spurs thanks to using our three opportunities for subs quite early. I doubt Heckingbottom will make that mistake twice in a row. If we can score early, I fancy us to get a point or three. If we can’t and Newcastle can, it’s going to be a real slog to try and get anything from the game.

Let’s go Archer 1-0, Wilson 1-1, and a set-piece winner for the Blades around the 80-minute mark.

Sheffield United 2-1 Newcastle