Paul Merson believes Newcastle United will come away from Luton with a 1-1 draw – but admits he’s ‘leading towards’ the home side if he had to pick a winner.
In his latest prediction piece, he discusses our midweek defeat at Chelsea, our injury issues, Kieran Trippier’s recent struggles and what he expects to be a ‘very difficult game’ for Eddie Howe at Kenilworth Road.
The Sky Sports pundit thinks the first goal will be key and fears for a Newcastle side ‘not anywhere close to full strength’ if it goes to Luton, but ultimately backs us to come away with a point.
Here’s what Merson told Sportskeeda ahead of the game:
I went to watch the game between Chelsea and Newcastle United in midweek. The Magpies might have only lost on penalties, but they did not look fluent at all. Luton Town are tough to play against at Kenilworth Road and this is a tricky fixture to call.
Newcastle United have got just way too many injuries and they’re not anywhere close to full strength. Their players are dropping like flies at the moment.
Kieran Trippier is struggling right now and it’s sad to see. His confidence seems to have dropped after a strong start to the season. I just think this is going to be a very difficult game for Eddie Howe’s men.
If Luton get in front first, I don’t see Newcastle steamrolling them after that. I’m leaning towards Luton but I still think the spoils might be shared in this one.
Prediction: Luton Town 1-1 Newcastle United
With five defeats and one draw in our last six away games in all competitions, a point would feel like two dropped in our bid for a top-four finish, especially when this is a chance to gain on an Aston Villa side who were held 1-1 by Sheffield United last night.
Let’s hope we can put the Chelsea defeat behind us and end our awful run on the road with a big three points here.
