Welcome to the Newcastle-Leeds preview.
Wednesday, January 7, starting at 8:15 p.m.
The Toon host Leeds United on Wednesday evening and are looking for a third straight win in the competition.
Newcastle have endured something of a stop-start campaign in the league so far.
However, they have the chance to push into the upper reaches of the table during what Eddie Howe has described as the crucial month of the season.
Form
Newcastle have won three, drawn one and lost two of their last six league matches. There have been wins against Burnley (both home and away) and Crystal Palace. We drew against Chelsea despite leading 2-0 at half time and lost 1-0 to Man Utd and the Mackems. We scored nine and conceded six. With the ten points won we are ninth in the league and with a win we can even finish fifth if all results go our way.
Leeds have drawn five and won one of their past six league matches. Their win came at home against Crystal Palace, while there were draws against Liverpool (both home and away), away at Brentford and the Mackems and at home against Man United. They scored ten goals and conceded seven. With the eight points achieved, they are sixteenth in the league and with a win they can skip Bournemouth to fifteenth place.
Last time out
Newcastle hosted Crystal Palace on Sunday afternoon and ran out worthy winners. In the first half, Toon had two goals disallowed and forced two good saves from the keeper. Despite the dominance, it was Palace who almost took the half-time lead when missing an absolute sitter in first-half stoppage time.
In the second half, Newcastle took the game to the opponents and finally broke through with just twenty minutes to play when Bruno nodded home after great work from Barnes and Miley. The lead was doubled shortly afterwards when Malick Thiaw took advantage of a fight in the goalmouth to force the ball home from close range. With the game won, there was still time for Barnes to race through on goal and force a fine save from the keeper, giving Willock a golden opportunity on the rebound which he somehow put wide with the goal gaping. This was a well-deserved win for the Toon, who have achieved back-to-back league wins for the second time all season.
Leeds hosted Man United this weekend and had to settle for a point despite taking the lead in the second half. Leeds were good value for the point after hitting the post in the first half and forcing a good save towards the end. The draw means the Whites are unbeaten in seven Premier League games as they look to allay relegation fears.
State attack!
-Leeds are unbeaten on their most recent past four visits to St James’ Park in all competitions.
– Newcastle’s last home win against Leeds came in the League Cup in 2013.
– A victory would be the third competition victory in a row for Toon. An achievement we have not achieved since April last season.
Memorable match
In the 01/02 season, these teams had already experienced an absolutely incredible encounter when the Toon came from 3-1 down to beat the Whites 4-3 in the last minute and topped the league at Christmas.
When Leeds visited St James’ Park a few weeks later, there was a lot to deliver on, but anyone hoping for more drama wouldn’t be disappointed. The match was only twenty-seven seconds into the game when Leeds opened the scoring with a somewhat bizarre goal. A ball over the top saw Alan Smith go completely through the goal with four defenders chasing him and he made no mistake in scoring at the Gallowgate End (something he never did when playing for the Toon). Under Sir Bobby, United had a reputation as comeback kings and once again we had to come from behind to secure a famous victory.
Fortunately, the early setback did not dampen the atmosphere and led to a redoubling of efforts, both in the stands and on the field. A period of sustained pressure from Newcastle led to the equalizer on the break when Duberry headed into his own goal. The second half would live long in the memory as the Toon built up steam and upended Leeds United. With the crowd in a state of absolute frenzy, building the atmosphere by the minute, St James’ Park exploded as Kieron Dyer put NUFC ahead with an hour on the clock. Great work from Solano and Bellamy gave Dyer the chance to put United ahead and he celebrated in quite a unique style, uprooting the corner flag and simulating a golf chip into the crowd. With half an hour to play the victory was not quite complete and Shay Give had to be alert to smother a rare Leeds chance. However, after eighty-seven minutes it was game over. Great work between Dyer and Bellamy saw the latter through on goal and undermine a fine effort to put United back at the top of the league as we recorded another fantastic win in an incredibly enjoyable season. Newcastle 3-1 Leeds.
Played for both
Ian Rush was a goalscoring legend at Liverpool and Juventus before an uninspiring spell at Leeds in 96/97, when he could only find the net three times. Incredibly, Kenny Dalglish signed him in 1997, hoping he would be a good replacement for Sir Les Ferdinand, who had scored 50 goals in the previous two seasons. Needless to say, this turned out terribly for everyone involved, as Rush failed to score a single league goal and United went from title contenders to relegation. He did score for NUFC in the FA Cup away to Everton, as Rush poked home a loose ball to win the third round tie 1–0 and set United on course to their first final in twenty-four years.
Didier Domi signed for Ruud Gullit in 1999 and spent eighteen months with the Toon before returning to PSG. He scored three times for NUFC with well-taken strikes against Wimbledon and Coventry, overshadowed by our first ever goal at the Stadium of Light in a match we should have won but drew 2-2. When he went on the run at Christmas in 2000, he was barely in favor with Sir Bobby and fell out of favour, citing his unhappiness at living on the Quayside, near ‘Godless’ fans. He was loaned out to Leeds for seventeen games in 2004, but was unable to prevent relegation from the Premier League.
Jonathan Woodgate signed for Leeds when he was sixteen and spent seven years at Elland Road, making over a hundred appearances. He was bought by Sir Bobby in 2003 and is widely regarded as one of the best defenders we have had during the Premier League era when he played. Unfortunately. that was few and far between and he was sold to Real Madrid after playing just twenty-eight games in eighteen months due to a number of injuries. Under other circumstances this could have been a match made in Heaven, but unfortunately this is just another story of what it could have been.
Managers
Eddie Howe after a 2-0 win at home to Crystal Palace:
“It was a difficult game, it always is against Crystal Palace. Oliver did a great job. We had to be patient. It was a bit difficult at times. I think the substitutions made the difference and helped us get over the line. I think they were two good moves for the goals that weren’t there. We needed that first goal to relax us. I think we got better and better in the game. Bruno is a very special player, person and character. He is very positive, has a lot of energy and played a great game. captaincy, because that game was always good.” will be decided at a very important moment – and he has come up with the big one for us. He’s done it countless times. Your big players normally decide big games and today was a big game for us, decided by a big player in our recent history.
Daniel Farke after a 1-1 draw against Man United:
“When you play Man Utd as a newly promoted side it’s always a good point. It wasn’t our best game from a football point of view, it was a bit shabby, you could see a few key players came off and we were a bit tired today. Still, we found a way. We forced an opener and could have taken all three points, so that’s why I’m a bit disappointed, but calming down I have to say it’s a fair point. It’s a good point, one more point. We can increase our score a bit and widen the gap a bit. Resilience in a difficult game for us, but I’m still a bit disappointed that it wasn’t three points.”
Good cause
The Newcastle United Fan Food Bank will once again be raising money across the Gallowgate, gratefully receiving food, cash and toiletries for those in need. Of particular importance are non-perishable food and drink items (such as noodles, pasta, rice, canned food, soup, cereal, liquor, long-life milk, etc.) as well as toiletries such as shower gel, shampoo, toothpaste and sanitary products. Please give what you can, any donation is greatly appreciated.
For more information and/or to donate online, visit Newcastle Food Bank
Prediction
The Toon should be feeling confident after winning their last two games and this represents a huge opportunity to win three games in a row and climb up a ridiculously tight league table. Leeds will look to take the game to us after some eye-catching results of late, but I think we will be too strong and will be looking for a Toon win. Newcastle 2-1 Leeds.
#Newcastle #Leeds #preview #ahead #match #James #Park