Newcastle fans will head into Christmas with smiles on their faces if Mark Lawrenson’s latest prediction comes true.
The former Match of the Day pundit is backing us to come away with a 2-0 win over Crystal Palace this weekend, believing our biggest strength this season has been our home form.
To my surprise, Lawro reveals that we’ve lost just ONCE at home this season – and that was in our avoidable opening day defeat to Arsenal via a mix up between Paul Dummett and Jetro Willems.
Here’s what he’s had to say during his latest prediction piece for the BBC:
‘Newcastle lost at Burnley last week but their home form remains a real strength – they have only lost one league game at St James’ Park all season.
‘Palace have been a fixture in the top half of the table for pretty much the whole season – in order to stay there, I think it is important that Wilfried Zaha does not leave in January, but that might turn into one of the sagas of the transfer window.‘
Prediction: Newcastle 2-0 Palace
Hopefully his prediction is a blessing and not a curse, with us facing a Palace side who’ve been quietly impressive on the road this season.
Roy Hodgson will be without several key men, with SIX players ruled out (Towsend, Sakho, Cahill, Ward, Riedewald and Schlupp), however their latest results away from home suggest they’ll be very tough to beat:
- West Ham 1-2 Palace
- Arsenal 2-2 Palace
- Chelsea 2-0 Palace
- Burnley 0-2 Palace
- Watford 0-0 Palace
Hopefully we rise to the challenge and give the St James’ Park a perfect early Christmas present as Lawro predicts – 3 precious points!
