Newcastle find themselves languishing in the relegation zone after a grim start to the season saw them pick up just one point from four games. It sounds bad, but this was always to be expected, as the Magpies were handed a nightmare fixture list to begin the 2018/19 campaign. They have already played three of the best teams in the country, and they battled bravely against Man City, Chelsea and Tottenham, succumbing to 2-1 defeats in each game. The draw with Cardiff was painful, but they were on the road, they had a man sent off and Kennedy missed a penalty, so you cannot really criticise Rafa Benitez.
The players and staff can lick their wounds over the international break and plot how to put more points on the board over the coming weeks. Their next game also sounds tough on paper, as they host Arsenal on September 15, but there is every reason to think Newcastle can get a result. The bookmakers listed on Oddsmarket make the Magpies underdogs, but this Arsenal team is there for the taking. Much depends on Benitez’s approach. He has been maligned for being overly cautious against City, Spurs and Chelsea, but Newcastle clearly lack the quality those teams can call upon, and keeping things tight is typically the only way to avoid a hammering. Just ask Huddersfield, who tried to play expansive football against Pep Guardiola’s men and lost 6-1.
But that is probably not the best approach to take against Arsenal. The Gunners could well become the most entertaining team in the league this season, as they defend dreadfully but often attack with dynamism, incision and flair. Full-backs Hector Bellerin and Nacho Monreal love soaring up the pitch in tandem, trying to play like Andrei Kanchelskis and Ryan Giggs in their pomp, leaving the hapless centre-backs brutally exposed. Shkodran Mustafi remains a calamitous presence at the back and new signing Sokratis looks similarly cumbersome and chaotic. Meanwhile, Petr Cech is being asked to play out from the back for the first time in his career, with predictably alarming results.
If you attack this Arsenal team, goals are all but guaranteed. Cardiff had gone their first three games of the season without scoring a single goal, but they put two past Arsenal and should have had a few more. They lost 3-2, and it is difficult to stop Arsenal scoring when they have forwards like Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette, but Newcastle could have more joy against Unai Emery’s men. If they keep things relatively tight, but also commit men forward and display ambition too, particularly in wide areas, they could pick up a first win of the season.
A glance at Oddsmarket will tell you that both teams to score and over 2.5 goals is a great bet on an Arsenal game. It would also have paid off in Newcastle’s matches against City, Chelsea and Tottenham, so you might consider it for this game. Many Newcastle fans love betting on the Magpies, and Oddsmarket is a valuable site to help you along the way. It has an odds comparison tool that allows you to analyse the market and find which bookmakers are offering the most attractive odds. You can also use the bet calculator and bet tracker functions to help you beat the bookmakers.
Every week, leading tipsters and sports writers run through Premiership games offering their expert insight on how to bet on them. You will find articles and videos analysing the teams’ form, injury lists and more. Oddsmarket also provides live scores, a calendar of events and a lively forum, making it a one-stop shop for all your sports betting needs. You will typically find that under 2.5 goals is a good bet on Newcastle, but perhaps not when they are playing Arsenal.
