Pre-Match thread, Leicester City vs Liverpool
Premier league
Venue: King Power Stadium
Referee: Anthony Taylor. Assistants: Gary Beswick, Adam Nunn. Fourth official: Lee Mason. VAR: Stuart Attwell. Assistant VAR: Mark Scholes.
Team News

• There are minor question marks over the fitness of Thiago Alcantara and Fabinho after both missed Liverpool training earlier this week, while Georginio Wijnaldum was pictured training away from the rest of the squad.
• As yet there is no further indication of injuries for any of the trio and so they will all be expected to start on Saturday, although there could be changes elsewhere - including a debut for deadline-day signing Ozan Kabak.
• Liverpool have had almost a full week to prepare for this match and so Kabak should now be ready to feature, likely alongside Fabinho at centre-back, to release Jordan Henderson back into midfield.
• The six-day break will have been welcomed for a squad Klopp acknowledged was looking weary, although it has not eased his injury issues much with Naby Keita, Diogo Jota, Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez and Joel Matip all still sidelined.
• Leicester have plenty of injury problems themselves too, with in-form full-back James Justin the latest player on the treatment table after suffering a knee injury in the FA Cup win over Brighton.
• The full extent of the injury is yet to be confirmed, but Justin is expected to miss this match, leaving Christian Fuchs likely to fill in on the left with Timothy Castagne also among the absentees.
• Ayoze Perez was also amongst the walking wounded against Brighton, picking up a shin injury, so he could join Wesley Fofana, Dennis Praet and Wes Morgan on the sidelines.
• There was better news in midweek with the return of Wilfred Ndidi, though, while the likes of Kasper Schmeichel, Harvey Barnes, Jonny Evans and James Maddison should come back into the starting XI.

Form guide +/-
Liverpool: 43/29 LWWLL
Leicester City: 39/25 WDLWD
Possible line-up from The Gaffer
Alisson Becker
TAA - Fabinho - Ozan - Robbo
Henderson - Gini - Thiago
Salah - Bobby - Mane
Match build up

• Third hosts fourth in the Premier League on Saturday lunchtime when high-flying Leicester City welcome champions Liverpool to the King Power Stadium.
• Three points separate the two sides in the table after 23 games, and the visitors arrive at the King Power looking to bounce back from successive league defeats for the first time under Jurgen Klopp.
• Klopp had been warning for weeks that Liverpool's main fight this season is for a top-four spot rather than for the title, even before last Sunday's chastening 4-1 defeat at home to Manchester City.
• While a couple of costly and uncharacteristic Alisson Becker errors gave the scoreline a slightly skewed look, the facts are increasingly grim for a Liverpool side already a whopping 24 points off the pace they set last season.
• The Reds were 19 points clear at the top after 23 games of 2019-20 but now find themselves 10 points adrift of leaders Manchester City having played a game more, not to mention five points behind second-placed Manchester United and three off Saturday's hosts.
• Liverpool's superior goal difference over Leicester means that victory this weekend would lift them back up to third, but anything less than that would open the door to Chelsea, who are now just a point behind following their resurgence under Thomas Tuchel, to leapfrog the champions into the top four.
• Some may even consider Leicester as slight favourites for this match given that Liverpool have won just two of their last nine league outings, including back-to-back defeats for the first time under Klopp.
• Current Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers was in charge the last time Liverpool lost three Premier League games in a row, in November 2014, but in a stark turnaround in form it is at home where most of those recent troubles have come.
• Away from Anfield, Liverpool are looking to win three consecutive top-flight games for the first time in a year, winning three and losing one of their last five compared to three defeats and no wins from their last five home league games.
• Even so, nine teams have still picked up more points than Liverpool on the road this season, although Leicester's home form has not been overly impressive either, with the Foxes faring much better on their travels.
• Leicester have already lost more home games this season than they did throughout the whole of 2019-20, and another defeat on Saturday would see Rodgers suffer six home league defeats in a season for the first time in his managerial career.
• Add to that the fact that former Liverpool managers have lost their last 12 Premier League reunions with the Reds stretching back to 2012, and that Leicester have lost 16 of their last 20 top-flight games against the reigning champions, and the omens perhaps look better for Liverpool than their recent form would suggest.
• Indeed, the Foxes are currently enduring their worst-ever home losing run against Liverpool in the league - three straight defeats - and could suffer four in a row against a particular opponent for the first time since 2003.
• Home and away Liverpool have won six of the last seven Premier League meetings, but Saturday's showdown looks poised to be the most evenly-matched contest between the two sides in some time.
• Leicester have suffered a minor slump in recent weeks with only one win in their last four league games, but they have also only lost one of their last 10, while only Man City have won more games over the course of the entire season so far.
• A goalless draw against Wolverhampton Wanderers last weekend edged the Foxes three points clear of their visitors on Saturday - a position Rodgers would have gleefully accepted had it been offered to him before the start of the season.
• Even another Premier League title challenge is not yet out of the question for the 2015-16 champions, although the FA Cup may provide a more likely route to silverware after they secured their place in the quarter-finals with a last-gasp winner against Brighton & Hove Albion on Wednesday night.

Leicester City vs Crystal Palace
3pm BST Kick off
A Must Win Game!
​
The match is being shown live by Sky Sports and is free to watch on Pick TV.
​
Form
Leicester WDDLL
Crystal Palace - WWWLL

TEAM NEWS

Leicester midfielder James Maddison is doubtful after aggravating a hip complaint in midweek, but Ayoze Perez, Demarai Gray and Kelechi Iheanacho are all under consideration to start.
Defenders Ricardo Pereira and Daniel Amartey are long-term absentees.
Crystal Palace are boosted by the return of Christian Benteke after a two-match absence because of injury.
Martin Kelly has stepped up his fitness but remains on the sidelines alongside James Tomkins and Jeffrey Schlupp.

Gameweek 8
Brighton vs Burnley 0-0
Brighton (Graham Potter)
Happy with the performance and limiting the opposition's chances. Had enough chances to score, just did not take them.
Danny Welbeck (5.5m FWD) was pleased with him, got in good positions, only had a few training days with the club so will get better in the future. Yves Bissouma (4.5m MID) had a good performance today, recovered the ball well and great defensively.
Florin Andone (4.8m FWD) is expected back in the new year.
Neal Maupay (6.5m FWD) worked well for the team, gave everything for the game, forming a good partnership with Danny Welbeck today considering it's the first time they’ve played alongside each other.
Leandro Trossard (6.0m MID) is expecting back after the international break due to a training injury a few days before the game.
Burnley (Sean Dyche)
There is a need to create more chances despite the defence improving in the game. A lot of players coming back from injury gaining fitness.
Dale Stephens (4.4m MID) had a small injury before the game which left him out, Gudmundsson was close to playing in the game but decided against it.
Southampton vs Newcastle 2-0
Southampton (Ralph Hassenhuttl)
Liked the way Theo Walcott (5.8m MID) and Che Adams (5.9m FWD) played upfront as a partnership. Che looks like he is getting better and better throughout the season.
Newcastle (Steve Bruce)
Ryan Fraser (6.0m MID) has a tear in his hamstring which left him out of the squad.
Callum Wilson (6.5m FWD) had limited chances, we lost the ball in possession which meant they couldn’t get further up the pitch. Need to get him scanned, hoping his hamstring isn't too bad.
Everton vs Man U
Everton (Carlo Ancelotti)
Was not a good performance defensively, gave them too many easy opportunities. With the ball we did well especially in the second half, not worried about the attack but the defence was concerning.
Jordan Pickford (5.0m GK) did well nothing to do with the goals being conceded.
Man U (OGS)
Happy with how the team reacted despite conceding the first goal.
Luke Shaw (4.9m DEF) and Marcus Rashford (9.5m MID) both had injury concerns after the game, Marcus with an hamstring issue which will be assessed.
Bruno Fernandes (10.5m MID) had a great performance, lots of desire and a good reaction.
Harry Maguire (5.5m DEF) had a good game considering he was against DCL, and didn't allow him to get ahead of him in the air.
Crystal Palace vs Leeds 4-1
Crystal Palace (Roy Hodgson)
Eze (6.0m MID) responded well to the expectations of him when coming to the club.
Leeds (Marcelo Bielsa)
Jamie Shackleton (4.8m MID) received a knock in training. Pablo Hernandez (5.8m MID) was not injured but not in the squad, didn't feel he was suitable for this game, ‘I picked the 18 players I thought were suitable for this game.’
Chelsea vs Sheffield United 4-1
Chelsea (Frank Lampard)
Thiago Silva (5.5m DEF) has made a huge difference to the defence in recent weeks, has lots of experience at a world level.
Hakim Ziyech (8.1m MID) gives us a difference in style coming off his left foot, importance in becoming a high impact player.
Sheffield United (Chris Wilder)
Aaron Ramsdale (4.8m GK) was at fault for the second goal but he’s a young keeper and the players in front of him aren't playing well, he’s made good saves so we’ll have to stick with him.
Oli Burke (4.4m MID) has not featured due to a tactical decision, has done well in his games but the team needs something different at the moment due to loss of possession.
West Ham vs Fulham 1-0
West Ham (David Moyes)
Fulham (Scott Parker)
Angry at Ademola Lookman (5.0m MID) young players make mistakes, his character will make him learn and understand. Mitrovic (5.7m FWD) is the designated penalty taker but he was struggling with a minor injury at the end of the game.
West Brom vs Spurs 0-1
West Brom (Slaven Bilic)
Disappointed with the result but we were there for the game.
Branislav Ivanovic (4.5m DEF) found out he was out of the team on Tuesday and Wednesday so we had time to prepare without certain players.
Spurs (Jose Mourinho)
Brought on a different striker to give the opposition a different problem to solve which they could not.
Looks like Hojbjerg (4.9m MID) will be going on international duty for the final game against Belgium.
Leicester vs Wolves 1-0
Leicsters (Brendan Rodgers)
Kasper Schmeichel (5.5m GK) has been playing really well, the defenders are getting a lot of the praise but he’s pulling out a lot of key saves. Wesley Fofana (5.0m DEF) is brilliant for a young player, comfortable on the ball.
Will have to wait and see Castagne (5.7m DEF) coming back into the team for the Liverpool game after the international break.
Puts the penalties his team gets due to getting the ball in the box a lot of the time.
Ayoze Perez (6.1m MID) was included today as there is only an 18 player limit, not due to an injury.
Wolves (NES)
A lot of discussion about the handball rules and the penalty incidents in the game.
Man City vs Liverpool 1-1
Man City (Pep Guardiola)
Didn't expect Gabriel Jesus (9.3m FWD) to play the full 90 minutes, had a good contribution to the game and great finish.
Joao Cancelo (5.4m DEF) has become very consistent in his performances recently.
Liverpool (Jurgen Klopp)
A lot of discussion on scheduling and the three substitution rules.
Trent Alexander-Arnold (7.4m DEF) will be out for the England games and maybe some more players will be out during the break.
Arsenal vs Aston Villa 0-3
Arsenal (Mikel Arteta)
Performed below our standards, didn't have any passion within the team.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (11.7m MID) has been performing below, the team needs to create more chances for him to compete with the big teams.
Thomas Partey (5.0m MID) was a precaution, will have a scan this week to see how bad the injury is, may not go on international break.
Aston Villa (Dean Smith)
Ross Barkley (6.0m MID) is forming a great partnership with Jack Grealish and must be catching the eye of Gareth Southgate.
Ollie Watkins (6.1m FWD) has been performing at his best against the top teams which is a great sign. Has hit the ground running and is showing he can perform at this level.

Hi, as the title says, I would like to assess every football club in the Premier League, using a mixture of opinion and stat based analysis, as well as the eye test when watching them play, especially focusing on transfers that could/should be made. I begin with Leicester City. (Because when I started they were top of the table). Let's go!
​
GK - Schmeichel, Ward, Jakupovic.
Schmeichel is a good goalkeeper, good enough for the top 6, that's to say I wouldn't bat an eye if a top 6 side had him in goal. He is 33 and is making a few more mistakes than he used to though. Not a liability, but I could see him becoming one in 2-3 years. Ward and Jakupovic are not good enough for Leicester City. I think for now they are golden, but a backup with perceived high potential is where I would lean towards. Perhaps an u23 prospect from the academy. Otherwise Leicester should start looking for a rough diamond. Suggestions - Karol Niemczycki (21, Cracovia), Predrag Rajkovic (24, Stade De Reims) and Dominik Greif (23, Slovan Bratislava).
​
RB - Pereira, Castagne, Justin.
Absolutely stacked. Nothing else to say really, does Justin become LB full-time? Who knows. No-one is declining, all three are great players and competition in this position will be huge for years to come. RB and CAM are Leicester's biggest assets right now.
​
CB - Soyuncu, Evans, Benkovic, Morgan. (Amartey, Ndidi)
Good for now, in need of a refresher though, hold onto Soyuncu and give him a worthy partner who for GODS SAKE is left-footed. Evans is injury prone, Morgan is captain but his playing days are over with the way football is being played. Put a 27 year-old Wes Morgan into that Leicester team and he still wouldn't be able to keep up, so how does he do at 36? Not great. Soyuncu is a great CB, £19m was a bargain. I feel like Leicester should be looking at a starting LCB, my suggestions would be Jordan Torunarigha (23, Hertha Berlin), Moussa Niakhate (24, FSV Mainz 05) and Benoit Badiashile (19, AS Monaco).
​
LB - Thomas, Fuchs. (Justin, Castagne)
I see two solutions to this, either play out the season with Castagne/Justin as starting LB as they can both play on both sides, OR sign a new LB, reducing (Most likely) Justin to a backup role. So far he has looked amazing, the only thing I am worried about is James Justin being a confidence player, he's on a high, does he have lows? What happens to him if he does? Those are unknowns with young players that's why it's always a consistency risk. What if one difficult game where he scores an own goal or gives away a penalty completely destroys him? While it is difficult to know, and the system in place is already great, I'm not 100% on it yet. Luke Thomas is a decent backup, but I would still consider a starting LB. Not a must by any means though. My suggestions would be Alejandro Grimaldo (25, Benfica), Jose Gaya (25, Valencia) and Layvin Kurzawa (28, PSG).
​
CDM - Ndidi, Choudhury, Mendy, Amartey
I'm not here to talk about changing tactics, so Leicester play with one DM, one pivot. That pivot is ideally Ndidi, who in my eyes is a top 3 DM in the league (Kante, Allan, Fabinho are also in the conversation). Nampalys Mendy is a great backup, and Choudhury is also a good, young player who can be played further up if needed. Amartey sticks out though, I think he needs to be let go, possibly sold (Could maybe get 9-10m for him), or kept around for depth and cups, kind of as a safety net. Despite overcrowding, a very strong position for Leicester.
​
CM - Tielemans, Praet, Silva, James (Choudhury, Maddison, Albrighton)
Quite strong, Tielemans has buckets of talent, and Praet is a very direct player, which suits Leicester and the way they like to play. Adrien Silva and Matty James... While okay as backups, I feel like in a similar vein to Amartey, should be sold or kept as depth or for cup games. Marc Albrighton has lost half a yard of pace rather early, just one of those players who declined at 29 not 32. I feel like he has all the qualities to be a great CM for the next 3-4 years though, so that is what I would do, sell Adrien Silva and Matty James (Or keep them around for cup games/depth). I reckon the combined fees could bring in around 15m. I don't know if this aligns with a lot of other people, but I'm very much for supporting the squad with academy players, rather than keeping around players like Adrien Silva for depth.
​
CAM - Maddison, (Tielemans, Iheanacho, Albrighton)
Maddison is an amazing player, he can have off games, but most of the time he's quality. I have a plan for Kelechi Iheanacho, turning him away from 9 due to his poor finishing, and turning him into a 10 due to his impressive range of passing (he has also played as a CAM/False 9 for Nigeria before). This is a big strength of Leicester, I have nothing to add or subtract from this position.
​
LW - Barnes, Gray (Perez, Under)
I love Harvey Barnes, he has eclipsed Demarai Gray despite being given less time. I see two options here, either trust Demarai Gray to be in and around the squad, OR sign a relatively cheap, but good left-footed left winger, not to compete with Barnes, but to provide a different option, a more crossing option rather than cutting inside. It's going to be difficult to find a LW who is happy being a rotation option, or a super-sub, but I would suggest Theo Bongonda (24, Genk), Yakou Meite (24, Reading) and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (19, Rubin Kazan).
​
RW - Perez, Under, Ghezzal (Albrighton)
This is a good position, Ayoze Perez hasn't really kicked on, he's not a star of this leicester side by any means. I was very surprised to see Rachid Ghezzal still on the books. I love the addition of Cengiz Under, he will definitely add a new dimension to leicester. I would love it if Under could be made permanent, Ghezzal was let go (I reckon 10-15m price tag) and Albrighton was turned into a CM/CAM. Ghezzal can also be kept for depth if no-one submits a good enough offer.
​
ST - Vardy, Slimani (Iheanacho)
I put Iheanacho in brackets because I feel like he is more suited as a CAM/False 9. Slimani is not good enough as a backup. If Jamie Vardy gets injured, Leicester lose a huge asset, and Iheanacho is not good enough in that role to replace him, neither is Islam Slimani. I would sell Slimani (10-12m price tag) or keep for depth/cup games as with all other sales. I would edge Iheanacho towards a deeper role, and promote a young and hungry number 9, either from the academy, or as a transfer. Tactically, I see Leicester playing the same way they have been under Brendan Rodgers, with a twist for if Vardy gets injured, with no Vardy I would play Iheanacho AND that new signing, with Iheanacho making overlapping runs or providing through balls. For a young and hungry number 9 I would suggest Eddie Salcedo (18, Inter), Martin Minchev (19, Sparta Prague) and Lenny Pintor (20, Olympique Lyon).
​
OVERALL: I feel like Leicester currently have the 6th best squad in the Premier League, whether that means they finish 6th that is left to be seen. The small changes I am suggesting cover up for the holes in their squad currently, these improvements could see them challenging for the Champions League spots in my eyes.
​
TL;DR - 5 Signings, 2 future, 3 now. NOW: Left-Footed CB, Starting LB and Left-Footed LW for depth/rotation. 2 future: GK and ST.
Am I a fraud or do you agree with me? Should I do the other 19 clubs or give up because I'm useless? Let me know!

When:

20th June 2020

Where:

Vicarage Road

Time:

12:30 GMT

Televised:

It's a Premier League ^TM Game. Of course it is! (Minus the fans now...)

Watford's Five Game League Form:

L D L #W L

Team News:

Where on Earth do we start? Under normal circumstance I wouldn't be typing this in what would normally be the Summer break, but Covid-19 happened and everything just stopped. After a few months of will it, won't it, can it, should we we've had the decision of yes we will proceed. As such, here we are. Coming into this, Deulofeu will not feature in this extended Season, still recovering from his ACL injury. Otherwise, we are expecting to see a clean bill of health across the whole unit. Just learnt Janmaat and Success will join Deulofeu on the sidelines for the Season. Success tore his achilles. ffs. Deeney has been mooted to start owing to his good fitness level even after his longer break owing to his concerns for his son's health and welfare with Covid-19. Other notable points in the build-up is Hughes coming off in the Brentford game with what appeared to be a knock to his foot (Likely precautionary than anything more sinister) and that Welbeck got minutes over Pereyra in the friendly vs Brentford and picked up an assist courtesy of an outstanding Capoue strike. (Brentford, by the by just picked up a Covid-19 positive player...) Otherwise, with the extra 2 subs expect to see more of our squad being utilised than usual as every team looks to try and shake off the rust.
Leicester meanwhile come into this with an extra injury concern or two. The superb Ricardo Pereira picked up a Season ending injury in the form of knee ligament damage, whilst Daniel Amartey also suffered a Season ending injury as well. Ayoze Perez, Ryan Bennett are doubts for the game; should they feature expect them to be from the bench.

Predicted Line-Up:

Foster
Femenia - Cathcart - Kabasele - Masina
Capoue - Hughes
Doucoure
Sarr - Doucoure - Welbeck
Deeney

u/Powerjugs predicts:

Vardy consistently has the measure of us (And most teams to be fair) and is able to out fox our keepers to giving away penalties with his pace and ball control, as well as his general finishing. I suspect Kabasele will be the main CB to track him given he's the only one we have to possess a modicum of pace himself, whilst Cathcart will be marshalling the back line. Honestly, I'm just happy Mariappa won't be starting after a well taken own goal v Brighton. However, Sarr has settled into the side and before the break was one of our leading players going forward with Deeney being Deeney; making a nuisance of himself whilst bringing others into play. Deulofeu's injury opens the door for Welbeck and Pereyra with the former looking more likely to start.
1-1; Vardy opening the scoring with a well taken 1-1 finish whilst Deeney prods home from the 6 yard box.

Please remember not to post any streams in the subreddit lest we anger the Admins

Match Info
Competition: Premier League — 37th Matchday
Venue: Newcastle Stadium
Referee: Andre Marriner
Time: Saturday, 19:45 BST / Convert to local time
Worldwide TV List
Form Guide
Newcastle: D — W — W — L — L
Liverpool: W — W —W — W —W
Possible Line-Up
Liverpool (4-3-3):

Alisson;
Trent — Lovren — Van Dijk — Robertson;
Henderson — Fabinho — Oxlade-Chamberlain;
Shaqiri — Firmino — Mane;

Team News
Newcastle:

• Ayoze Perez is expected to return after limping off against Brighton
• (Florian) Lejeune is absent
• Yedlin has a groin problem

Liverpool:

• Oxlade Chamberlain is expected to start after making his comeback from injury
• Naby Keita is confirmed to be out after suffering an injury during the Barcelona. He will be expected to return next season.
• Firmino is expected to return after the muscle tear prevented him from starting in the Champions League loss against Barcelona

Stats

• Newcastle United have only lost one of their last seven home Premier League games against Liverpool (0-6 in April 2013), winning four and drawing the other two.
• Liverpool have won their last two Premier League games against Newcastle -they haven't won three in a row against them since a run of four between November 2007 and May 2009
• Liverpool have lost 10 away Premier League games against Newcastle, only losing more against Man Utd (16), Chelsea (14) and Spurs (12).
• Newcastle have won their last four home league matches in the month of May, scoring 13 goals and conceding just once.
• Liverpool have won their last seven Premier League matches, scoring 20 goals and conceding five. The Reds are on the longest current unbeaten run in the EPL (15 games, W11, D4)
• Newcastle's Ayoze Perez has scored in three consecutive Premier League games, netting five goals in total.
• After a run of six EPL games without a goal, Liverpool's Mo Salah has scored four in his last four competitions.
• Liverpool defender Andrew Robertson has provided 11 Assists in the Premier League. No defender has ever supplied more in a single campaign in the competition. The Scotsman has provided the most assists of any player not to score themselves in the season.

Premier League: Tottenham Hotspur vs Newcastle United

Venue: Wembley Stadium Kickoff: 20:00 Referee: Neil Swarbrick

Teams

	Spurs	Newcastle
	1 Lloris	12 Dubravka
	2 Trippier	22 Yedlin
	6 Sánchez	6 Lascelles
	5 Vertonghen	20 Lejeune
	33 Davies	3 Dummett
	12 Wanyama	10 Diamé
	17 Sissoko	8 Shelvey
	23 Eriksen	10 Ritchie
	20 Dele	17 Pérez
	7 Son	15 Kenedy
	10 Kane	9 Gayle
	Substitutes	Substitutes
	3 Rose	7 Murphy
	4 Alderweireld	14 Hayden
	11 Lamela	19 Manquillo
	13 Vorm	21 Joselu
	18 Llorente	23 Merino
	21 Foyth	25 Haidara
	27 Lucas	26 Darlow

Team News

• Tottenham midfielder Eric Dier is suffering from illness and will miss Wednesday's re-arranged game.
• Jan Vertonghen is available despite coming off with an ankle problem in the defeat at West Brom but Mousa Dembele, Serge Aurier and Harry Winks are all sidelined by injuries.
• Rafa Benitez could rotate his Newcastle side after the 2-1 defeat at Watford.
• The Magpies will be without suspended forward Islam Slimani and injured pair Ciaran Clark and Christian Atsu.

Match Facts

• Newcastle United have won three consecutive Premier League away matches against Spurs.
• Tottenham's last home league win against Newcastle was at White Hart Lane in February 2013, with Gareth Bale scoring twice.
• Spurs won 2-0 at St James' Park in August and could secure their first league double over Newcastle since the 2004-05 season.
• Tottenham have lost two of their last four Premier League games, having only been beaten once in their previous 18 top-flight fixtures.
• Spurs also failed to score for the first time in 24 Premier League matches in Saturday's defeat at West Brom.
• They could go consecutive Premier League matches without scoring for the first time since May 2015.
• However, Tottenham have won their last 17 Premier League home games against promoted sides since a 2-1 defeat by Norwich City in April 2012.
• Harry Kane needs one goal to draw level with sixth-placed George Hunt (138) in Tottenham's all-time leading scorers list.
• Newcastle have lost three successive league games for the first time since December.
• They have also won just once in their past eight away matches in all competitions.
• The Magpies have only won once in 50 Premier League away matches against sides starting the day in the top four (D8, L41).
• Newcastle have also lost their last six matches at Wembley Stadium since a 3-1 victory over Manchester City in the 1955 FA Cup final. They last played at Wembley in April 2000, losing 2-1 to Chelsea in an FA Cup semi-final.
• Ayoze Perez has four goals in his last six Premier League appearances, as many as in his previous 48 top-flight matches.

Match Stats

Spurs	Stat	Newcastle
63%	Possession	37%
11	Shots	14
7	Shots on Target	3
6	Corners	4
10	Fouls	8
4	Offsides	1
2	Yellow cards	3
0	Red cards	0

Match Updates

0': Kick-off!
45': Half-time: Spurs 0 - 0 Newcastle
45': Kick-off! Second half begins
50': Goal! Spurs 1 - 0 Newcastle. Harry Kane right footed shot from the centre of the box to the top right corner. Assisted by Son Heung-Min. Video from jelly_bear
57': Dele Alli is shown the yellow card.
71': Substitution, Newcastle. Jacob Murphy replaces Kenedy.
73': Matt Ritchie is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
76': Substitution, Newcastle. Joselu replaces Dwight Gayle.
77': Substitution, Tottenham. Erik Lamela replaces Son Heung-Min.
80': Mohamed Diamé is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
83': Substitution, Tottenham. Toby Alderweireld replaces Kieran Trippier because of an injury.
88': Substitution, Tottenham. Danny Rose replaces Victor Wanyama.
89': Erik Lamela is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
90'+2': DeAndre Yedlin is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
90'+5': Full-time: Spurs 1 - 0 Newcastle

Spurs move into third and secure a top 4 finish and Champions League football.

Full rundown on BBC

Newcastle United F.C. 18/19

#	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	PTS
13	38	12	9	17	42	48	-6	45

• Stadium: St. James' Park
  
• Manager(s): Rafa Benítez
  
• Most Appearances: Martin Dubravka (38 appearances)
  
• Top Scorer: Ayoze Pérez (12 goals)
  
• Top Assister: Matt Ritchie (8 assists)
  
• Most Clean Sheets: Martin Dubravka (11 clean sheets)
  
• Key Stats
  

90: With a combined 90 goals (42 GF + 48 GA), Newcastle are technically the most "boring" team in the league in terms of goals in their matches: Strong defence, poor-ish goalscoring.
£21,500,000: The amount of the transfer for Atlanta United's Miguel Almíron, breaking their previous club record of £16.8 million for Michael Owen in 2005. It took 14 years for them to break their transfer record
18%: With 18% possession against Chelsea in August, Newcastle registered the lowest possession in a PL match this season

Hopes and Overall Grades

Hopes/Predictions at the start of the season?

• Twofold - not to get relegated again, and that Mike Ashley just fucks off back under a rock
  
• Progress, or at least consolidation of the top half finish we had last year and not having to worry about looking over our shoulder in the table. Unfortunately our business in the summer meant another relegation battle was on the cards and, while there was never too much fear of the drop, we went into the season with one of the weakest squads in the league (again) and that was always a cause for concern.
  
• Hoped for an 8th-12th finish. Prediction was most likely bottom half, but not relegated because of Rafa.
  

​

Season Grade + Review

• C+ Mad; even by our standards, some of the lowest points for the club in what seems like 30 years and then so wonderful moment fantastic surprising results and brilliant atmosphere in matches.
  I think we've been a very up and down team. We had a terrible start, highlighted by the dreadful tie with Cardiff, but our late season home form has been pretty good. With some good results, like the City win, and some bad, like a 0-0 home draw with Fulham, I'd say it's been a pretty middling season.
  
• C It's gone about as we'd expected. After a poor first half of the campaign, the signing of Almiron (coupled with the win over Manchester City a day prior) gave us the confidence and quality to, once again, improve after the turn of the year and pull away from relegation with a few games to go. An improvement in results and performances to end the season will, no doubt, provide encouragement but it's another forgettable and repetitive year with stagnation, a poor performance in the cups and an unspectacular league campaign.
  
• B We avoided relegation, but did not really grow in performances from the previous year. Teams around us grew too much and our lack of spending slowed out development and chances of really making a big run. With that said there were some high points and some major points of success. I really enjoyed how we made noticeable progress from start to finish with improving play styles.
  

​

Manager Grade + Review

• 👃 👓👌 You know the rest.
  
• A Rafa's got almost everything right this season, incredible job
  Fucking love the bloke. Nothing more needs to be added.
  Always professional, always getting the most out of the players and for this season... playing for a miracle.
  The tactical change, with 3 CBs and Ritchie on the left of it gave us something that worked excellently. It's not been without faults, though. I think his substitutions have been off at times, and I, like others, am disappointed with how little of Muto he's let us see, opting for the better known but less interesting and inspiring Christian Atsu.
  
• B Rafa will always be praised for succeeding with a limited squad and an incompetent working environment. However, a poor start to the season including a dramatic decline in performances from key players, along with the (justified) negative attitude surrounding the club meant frustration was setting in. But Rafa deserves huge credit for finally ditching his 4-2-3-1 system and trying new things with players and tactics during the second half of the season. The ability to keep calm and reinvigorate the players, despite turmoil off the pitch due to contract and takeover drama, can't be understated and some impressive performances and results in the past few months shows exactly why he's so loved here.
  
• C+ There's no doubting Rafa's a tactical master, but there's too many games where those tactics are negative, or there's no sub till 70+ minutes, and then it's a defensive player. Don't get me wrong, it's got us some points, and kept our goal difference down for the season, but god is it boring to watch. The only time he's gone against that is bringing on Muto (a forward) against Liverpool when it looked like we could get something
  

The XI

Best/Most Used XI + Tactics

 Dubravka Yedlin Schär Lascelles Dummett Ritchie Pérez Hayden Longstaff Almíron Rondón 

TIFO FOOTBALL VIDEO ON RAFA's 5-4-1 / 3-4-3
Sit tight, organised defence, then attack with good passing from Longstaff/SchaLejeune and pace from Perez and Almiron. Rondon bullying defenders freeing up extra space for attacking mids.
Yedlin's a point of contention online. He's normally decent for me, but he can make 1 mistake and all of a sudden he's some pantomime villain?
Tactics? Pretty defensive, as would be expected from Benitez, but I really don't like watching us try to defend a 1 goal lead for 3/4 of the match...
Essentially, Rafa sets the team out to defend in numbers and happy to concede possession when without the ball in a flat 5-4-1. When they break, they break quickly through Ayoze and Almiron, with Ritchie and Yedlin joining the attack forming a 3-4-3. With fantastic ball playing centre backs like Schär, Lejeune, and at times Dummett, they can "play the Shelvey role without the Shelvey liability". If nothing is working they can knock it long to one of the best players at holding up the ball and laying it off in the league in Rondón.

Best/Worst Match and Goal of the Season

Best Match of the Season: Newcastle 2-1 Manchester City

• Being the only side to take points off Manchester City in 2019 with the 2-1 win in January would be difficult to top, especially because of the electric atmosphere around the stadium due to the Almiron arrival and the immense performance from our very own Sean Longstaff.

Worst Match of the Season: Newcastle 0-3 West Ham

• Honourable mention to Newcastle 0-0 Fulham: worst game of professional football ever played. The xG was 0.29 to 0.25, the lowest combined of any match in the Premier League this season

Goal of the Season: F. Schär vs BUR 24'

• So good that Vincent Kompany had to try it. But, like most copies in life, the original was always better

Season Awards

• Goalkeeper of the Season: Martin Dubravka
  Clear #1, not much more to be said. Had a couple of howlers, but has won us so many more points than we've dropped because of anything he's done.
  Proven to be a bargain
  Had a few patches of his form dipping a little; but he never needs to wait too long for another chance to make a big save.
  The Czech Slovak had the most high claims in the premier league this season, with a staggering 43, which is 11 more than second best Ben Foster
  
• Defender of the Season: Fabian Schär
  Solid at the back, good feet, not afraid to go forward with the ball, scores bangers
  Goal of the season, defender of the season and the most handsome man in the squad, Fabian Schär has it all. He had a slow start to the campaign and barely featured but, once he found his feet, he never left the team. His ability on the ball and willingness to step into midfield has, arguably, been the catalyst to the upturn in form in 2019. Teams have struggled to deal with the extra man in attack and his *pinpoint passing** is another reason why Shelvey can't get into the team.*
  I love Lejuene and had he not fucked his ligaments again this would be his but Schär makes me feel good things sometimes so it's him.
  It might well have been Lejeune, IMO is our best player, but he's had injury problems which mean he's not had as much time to make his impact.
  The 27 year old Swiss giant is entering his prime years, and managed to be one of the better goal contributing centre halves in the league with 4 goals and 1 assist, including a brace against Cardiff City
  
• Midfielder of the Season: Isaac Hayden
  He's stated he wants to leave (family reasons) for months now but has been consistently one of our top performers since January. 99% of Newcastle fans at the start of the season wouldn't have been arsed if he was sold. I'd guess the same amount now will be sad to see him go, though we all understand his reasons and thank him for the commitment he's showed when playing.
  Whichever club down south (hopefully a Prem one) buys him, will be getting a very solid Premier League DM, who will 100% do a good job.
  Really stepped up after being a bit shit before, forming great partnership with Longstaff (who also could've had a mention if he'd been in the team longer)
  The 24 year old Arsenal youth product was also managed to contribute a goal and 4 assists to go with his great all around play.
  
• Forward of the Season: Salomón Rondón
  You'll struggle to find a forward more important to a team than he has been. Hopefully he sticks around, as a triple threat of Almiron, Rondon and Perez would be excellent.
  Strong, powerful, good finisher, great hold up play, powerful runner, good energy (now, when he came he got tired after 1 sprint). Perfect for our system, Had the Ayoze-Rondon-Almiron trio been at the club since the start of the season, we'd be a lot better off.
  The on-loan Venezulean from West Brom got himself an impressive 11 goals and 7 assists in 32 matches this season in the league.
  
• Signing of the Season: Salomón Rondón (loan)
  First thing we need to do this summer (if Rafa stays) is sign him permanently. He's the perfect player for our system. Imo he'd fit in almost any of the top 6-8's squads. Will be a massive shame (though not at all surprising) if we don't sign him.
  Purely because no-one expected him to be this good. He was never considered good enough to lead the line but he's scored some huge goals and been such a lovely bloke that it'd be unfair to give it to anyone else.
  Honourable mention to basement buy Fabian Schär for £3.00 million. He came as an unknown quantity, and he's had his issues with defensive decision making and yellow cards, but his passing has been sublime
  
• U-23 Player of the Season: Sean Longstaff
  He's a first team player now, that's how good he's been. He had to come in because of injury to Shelvey and Ki being on international duty. He stepped in seamlessly, and looked a ready made Premier League player. Ended up being a pretty big loss to us when he got injured for the remainder of the season in early March. Really looking forward to seeing him again next season, if he continues the way he did, he's got a bright future ahead of him. First "local lad" in the team since Paul Dummett/Andy Carroll, so that helps too.
  Even though he's been our only U23 to really play, he would still deserve it regardless, he was excellent when we saw him, and we really missed out by losing him to injury.
  
• Disappointment of the Season: Kenedy and Mike Ashley's Existence
  He played really well for us after signing on loan in January 17/18. We were all really looking forward to seeing more of him this season. A lot of people even willing us to sign him permanently last summer. He's shown none of that 2018 form and really a total lack of commitment/desire. This season, it looked like he's at Newcastle for himself, and to try and "show off" his abilities. Problem is, it made him look like a prat 95% of the time. Stupid flicks, tricks where they're not needed, losing possession. He's going to end up one of those 'nothing' players in a mid table Turkish side unless he changes his attitude.
  Honourable mention to Jonjo Shelvey , who has found himself potentially the fifth choice at CM despite being one of the top earners at the club. A constant hot-head and an inconsistent performer, it's hard to see a future for him at Newcastle which is a real shame considering he was unfortunate to miss out on a World Cup spot just 12 months ago.
  

​

Other

Shocking Moment of the Season: LOTS of things

• All the bad calls
  
  • Luke Steele clattering Ayoze Perez in the League Cup, knocking the Toon out
  • Salah finger penalty
  • Willy Boly grabbing Dubravka by the neck to get the match drawing goal in the 95th minute
  • Willy Boly with the people's elbow on Ayoze Perez in the box
  • Pickford rugby tackling Rondon in the box after a poor catch
  • THAT Fabinho dive ("no, Ritchie was not fouling him before that you whinging bin dippers")
• Wtf happened to Kenedy?
  
• Ritchie becoming a competent wingback/fullback
  
• Breaking the club's transfer record after many years of Michael Owen being on top of that list
  

Heading into Next Season....

• KEEP RAFA KEEP RAFA KEEP RAFA. KEEP. RAFA.
  
• Sign Rondón permanently
  
• Central Midfielder, a box-to-box that can pass, hit bombs, and defend.
  
• Wingbacks
  
• Fatty needs to sell the club.
  
• Another backup, younger striker
  
• Cut the dead weight: Colback, Saivet, Lazar, Aarons, might get some heat.. Diame
  

Previous Reviews

• Huddersfield Town [20th]
  
• Fulham [19th]
  
• Cardiff City [18th]
  
• Brighton and Hove Albion [17th]
  
• Southampton [16th]
  
• Burnley [15th]
  
• A.F.C. Bournemouth [14th]
  

I've posted about my writing on here before and how I'm trying to get better at it so lemme know what you guys think, this probably won't be much new information for a lot of Newcastle fans but I worked hard on it and uncovered some pretty interesting stats so lemme know what you guys think

Eyebrows were raised when Newcastle United smashed their transfer record last summer and handed the iconic number nine shirt to a relatively unknown Brazilian described by manager Steve Bruce as ‘having all the attributes a top striker needs.’ But six months later, with just one goal to his name and even being outclassed by a 40-year-old third division journeyman, the pressure is on Joelinton to start scoring and save Newcastle’s season as well as his Premier League career.
Much has been made about Newcastle’s struggles in front of goal this season, particularly after their 1-1 draw in the FA Cup to Rochdale where veteran striker Aaron Wilbraham came off the bench to pounce for the League One side, dispossessing Joelinton before providing the impact Steve Bruce’s side could only dream of receiving from their £40million signing. And, arguably the most worrying part of the 23-year-old’s 19th successive game without a goal is that nobody was really all that surprised.
Joelinton has often proved an isolated and lonely figure up front since joining from Hoffenheim where he was regularly interchanging with his strike partners, either from out wide in a trio or up front in a duo. His playstyle in Germany saw him drop deep before running at the defence but at Newcastle he has been asked to lead the line, usually with his back to goal whilst holding the ball up for runners, something which has seen his dribbles per game drop from last season and his rate of aerial duels more than doubling – as well as his amount of turnovers. The change in role was largely down to Bruce’s adoption of previous manager Rafa Benitez’s tactics, with the Spaniard’s system bringing out the best in loanee target man Salomon Rondon and it was hoped that Joelinton could adapt his playstyle to replace the 11-goal striker.
In fact, Benitez was offered the signing of Joelinton numerous times during the last six months of his tenure but he insisted that the Brazilian was worth closer to £20million instead of the £43million that Hoffenheim were demanding and that surplus could instead be used on other areas of the squad, particularly in the £16.5million permanent signing of the focal point of his attack in Rondon. Newcastle owner Mike Ashley revealed in a rare interview that he was ‘freaked out’ as to why Benitez was reluctant to sanction the club’s record signing – after all, Benitez had been haranguing the club to back him financially so why now would he not want a player who he believed didn’t fit the team and was vastly overpriced instead of his tried and tested first choice? A difficult concept for some to grasp, certainly.
Having no faith in Ashley’s vision for the club, Benitez left for Chinese side Dalian Yifang upon the expiry of his contract whilst Bruce arrived at St James’ Park to find a 6’1 Brazilian waiting for him holding the number nine shirt before the ex-Sheffield Wednesday boss could even say ‘why aye man’. Despite managing to break the ice a quip about emulating Joelinton’s blonde-streaked hair through a combination of broken English and an interpreter, Bruce’s uncomfortable first interaction with his new signing was perhaps foreshadowing of the awkwardness Joelinton would face in transitioning from deep-lying support striker to a primary goalscorer. With Rondon joining Benitez in China and Ayoze Perez having signed for Leicester City earlier in the month, Newcastle had lost the source of 23 of their 42 goals last season and the pressure was on the Brazilian to fill the void left by the duo. A tough ask of a player who’s highest goalscoring output was eight goals in 33 games for SK Rapid Wien in the Austrian Bundesliga. And with more bookings than goal contributions in his 23 games for the club this season, it appears Benitez’s concerns had some merit.
With just one goal in his 1692 minutes of football, Joelinton’s strike rate ranks amongst the worst in Premier League history. MLS star Jozy Altidore netted twice in 70 games for Sunderland and Hull giving him a goal every 1775 minutes, though Scottish striker Andy Gray’s solitary strike in 2717 minutes across 51 games remains the all-time record low. Of current strikers in the league, only Bournemouth’s £20million signing Dominic Solanke has a worse strike rate than Joelinton, having scored once in his 50 appearances for the Cherries and Liverpool in 1969 minutes. Though writing off Joelinton just a few months into a six-year contract seems premature, particularly given the youngster’s commitment in tough times in a new country, with his partner and two-year-old son having only moved to England just before Christmas. Furthermore, despite the lack of goals, the forward ranks in the top-20 in the league for chances created from open play and it is, ironically, due to poor finishing from Newcastle’s other forwards that Joelinton only has two assists.
Football has proven time and time again to be a fickle game and it wasn’t long ago that similar questions were being asked of teammate Miguel Almiron before the Paraguayan netted his maiden goal against Crystal Palace in December at the 27th time of asking. Almiron followed that up with strikes against Rochdale and Wolverhampton Wanderers and finally appears to be showing the ability that convinced Newcastle to break their previous transfer record for him 12 months ago. And there is faith at St James’ Park that history can repeat itself with their new record signing. Bruce has repeatedly leapt to the defence of his striker, urging him to stay mentally strong instead of feeling sorry for himself and learn about the target man role from Toon big man Andy Carroll to channel the spirit of number nines of old such as Alan Shearer, Les Ferdinand and Carroll himself. Though there is admittedly a disappointment from Bruce and the fans about Joelinton’s inability to do the basics and, unsurprisingly, Newcastle have been in the market for another forward this window, with RB Leipzig winger Ademola Lookman looking to complete a loan move to St James’ Park.
Optimism remains though, particularly with mercurial winger Allan Saint-Maximin returning from injury soon and the Frenchman’s influence on the team cannot be understated – the Magpies have only collected five points from the ten games he has missed this season while six of their seven wins have come with the Frenchman on the pitch. With both Almiron and Saint-Maximin slowly adapting to English football, there is hope that the pair can offer Joelinton the support he needs both on and off the pitch to create a fluid partnership and prove that the Brazilian is capable of being Newcastle’s number nine for many years to come.

Newcastle United vs Arsenal

Match Information

Competition : Premier League - Game 33. Venue : St James' Park. Date : Sunday April 15, 2018. Kickoff : 13:30 GMT. Match Referee : Anthony Taylor

Team News

Newcastle United
Rafael Benitez's side sit mid table in the Premier League with six games of the season left to play. The Spaniard is likely to stick with the 4-4-1-1 formation which has seen his side win three games in a row. The Magpies boss is likely to field an unchanged XI with Kenedy, Jonjo Shelvey and Dwight Gayle all impressing at the heart of Newcastle's team in recent weeks. Ayoze Perez is the club's top scorer with six goals to his name so far this season.
Arsenal
David Ospina has been ruled out for two to three weeks with an ankle injury sustained in training on Wednesday. Armenia international Henrikh Mkhitaryan also misses out with a slight knee problem and will be missing for a further two weeks. Spanish midfielder Santi Cazorla remains a long-term absentee with an Achilles injury.
Head to Head

Newcastle	Draw	Arsenal
1	2	11

Newcastle Chelsea

Matchday 38
13 May 2018
Kick Off: 15:00 BST / 10:00 EST / 07:00 PST
Venue: St. James' Park
Referee: Martin Atkinson
Links
🎩 Magic Hat Thread
Discord Server
Pre-Match Conference
BBC Preview
Match Facts
Head-to-head

• Newcastle are unbeaten in their last four home Premier League games against Chelsea, scoring at least twice in each match (W3, D1).
• The teams have met twice already this season, with Chelsea winning 3-1 in the league and 3-0 in the FA Cup (both at Stamford Bridge).

Chelsea

• Chelsea are unbeaten in six Premier League games (W4, D2). They've also won three consecutive away league games, having lost three in a row before this run.
• Last season's champions are 20 points worse off than at the same stage last season. They've also scored 18 fewer goals.
• Marcos Alonso has been directly involved in nine Premier League goals this season (7 goals, 2 assists), more than any other defender.
• Olivier Giroud has scored eight goals in nine Premier League games against Newcastle, more than against any other opponent.
• Eden Hazard (69) is one short of moving third in Chelsea's top Premier League goalscorers list. He is currently joint-third with Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink.

Newcastle

• Newcastle have lost four successive Premier League games, having won four in a row before this run.
• They've also scored just once in those four defeats - a goal by Ayoze Perez in a 2-1 loss at Watford.
• However, the Magpies have conceded just six goals in their last 10 Premier League home games.
• Newcastle could win a top-flight home match against Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United in a single season for the first time since 1968-69.
• They have also lost just two of their five home games against sides in the top six (W2, D1). Rafa Benitez has won only three of his 13 Premier League matches against Chelsea (D2, L8).

Team News
Chelsea

• Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois is available after recovering from a minor back injury.
  
• Antonio Conte could rotate his side after the 1-1 midweek draw with Huddersfield, with Eden Hazard and Olivier Giroud likely to earn recalls.
  

Newcastle

• Newcastle will be without on-loan midfielder Kenedy as the Brazilian is ineligible to face his parent club.
  
• Forward Islam Slimani is suspended, while Ciaran Clark and Christian Atsu remain sidelined.
  

Form

Chelsea	W W W W D
Newcastle	W L L L L

Current Table

POS	CLUB	P	W	D	L	GD	PTS
1	Man City	37	31	4	2	78	97
2	Man United	37	24	6	7	39	78
3	Spurs	37	22	8	7	37	74
4	Liverpool	37	20	12	5	42	72
5	Chelsea	37	21	7	9	27	70

Making Top 4

• If Chelsea beat Newcastle and Liverpool lose to Brighton, Chelsea finish 4th.
  
• Liverpool draw to Brighton, and Chelsea beat Newcastle by 16 goals
  
• If Liverpool finish top 4 and win the Champions league, does the 5th place qualify? No
  

Hi all,
Time for round 2 to continue the countdown to the league season. As mentioned in Part 1, I am moving up the table and this piece looks at my predictions, previews and key players for the sides I’m expected to finish 15 – 11.
As always, it would be great to hear any comments or thoughts you might have.
You can catch up on Part 1 here, if you missed it Part 1 - 20 to 16
Thanks!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
15. Crystal Palace
The Eagles never really pinned down a significant run of form last season, but Roy Hodgson’s men had a habit of pulling out the big results whenever they needed to as well as pulling off some brilliant shocks, which helped them secure a 12th placed finish.
Unfortunately for Palace fans, this summer has been all but smooth. Talisman Wilfried Zaha sent out his own personal ad looking for a move to a ‘bigger club’, Aaron Wan Bissaka – after a stellar breakthrough season - actually made the move to a bigger club and on top of that incomings have been hard to come by. The signing of Victor Camarasa looks to be a good deal, the Spaniard impressed in his loan spell at Cardiff and will add much needed creativity to the side. Aside from that Jordan Ayew has come in on a permanent deal after a mildly successful stint on loan for a bargain £2.5m, Gary Cahill has been brought in on a free transfer to add some experience, knowhow and quality to their backline and James McCarthy has arrived from Everton to bolster their energy, determination and grit in midfield.
However, that seems to be all and with clubs both directly above them and beneath strengthening significantly and splashing the cash, this could prove to be a tricky season for the Eagles. Keeping Zaha would be a coup but they haven’t adequately replaced Wan Bissaka and neither have they gone out and got a striker they so desperately need.
I predict a hard fought battle with relegation that they will eventually win, but it’s clear that investment in the playing squad is desperately needed at Selhurst Park and they can ill afford to lose Zaha before the close of the transfer window, his goals and assists will be needed more than ever.
Key man: Wilfried Zaha
The obvious key man at Selhurst Park. He is the driving force behind the Eagles and a truly talismanic figure. It's a role he has thrived in since returning to the club but the question remains on how he will react after his summer dalliance with Arsenal and then Everton? Palace can't afford to have a distracted and off colour Zaha, they are most definitely not the same proposition without his pace, trickery, goals and assists.
New king: Victor Camarasa
The Spaniard impressed on loan at Cardiff last year in fits and starts. He has the playmaking ability and array of passing that Palace need in the middle of the park plus he's not afraid to put his foot in. He will act as a good foil to Luka Milovojevic and Max Meyer (who I think will come to the fore after a quiet first season).
A big season for: Christian Benteke
Another season of mediocrity from the big Belgian will surely end any hope he has of being a regular PL striker. 4 league goals in 2 seasons is a paltry return by anyone's standards and after a poor summer of recruitment for Palace, they desperately need Benteke to rediscover his former glories and fire in some much needed goals.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
13. Newcastle
It was a season of yet more ups and downs at St. James Park that included more protests voicing their concern at Mike Ashley’s ownership, and despite this being centre of attention for the majority of the season, Rafa Benitez managed to steer the ship and navigate the Magpies to a 13th placed finish.
As it turns out, the season ended up being the calm before the storm this summer. After another stellar season in charge, Rafa Benitez controversially exited, much to ire of the Geordie faithful, and Steve Bruce has stepped in to replace him. His appointment hasn’t come amidst much fanfare and added to the fact that Salomon Rondon also didn’t sign a permanent deal after a successful loan spell – it’s fair to say that it’s been a summer of upheaval in the north.
Despite this, there is some hope for Newcastle fans. After Mike Ashley finally dipped his hand into his pockets in January and signed Paraguayan midfielder Miguel Almiron for a club record fee, he has decided to give Steve Bruce a fair chunk of change to spend this summer as well. Joelinton is the man chosen to replace Rondon and lead the line for Newcastle this season. The Brazilian has been brought in for a £40m fee from the Bundesliga and will surely be under the microscope as he aims to fill the gaping hole left by the Venezuelan. Newcastle will need him to hit the ground running alongside fellow new winger Allan Saint-Maximin, signed for £20m from Nice – the young French winger has searing pace and the ability to beat a man rather easily. He showed serious potential in France but with fan favourite Ayoze Perez also departing and lingering question marks around his final third intelligence – they’ll need him to fire and start realising that potential this season. Alongside those two marquee signings, Newcastle have also bolstered their defence with Dutch left back Jetro Willems on loan from Eintracht Frankfurt – which looks to be a snip - and Emil Krafth, the Swedish right back signing from Amiens. These signings all add to a Newcastle squad that looks in decent shape, with Martin Dubravka in goal, Jamaal Lascelles marshalling the defence and potential breakthrough season for Sean Longstaff, there should be enough reason for optimism on Tyneside.
So after a tumultuous summer and what looks to be a potentially uninspiring appointment in the shape of Steve Bruce, what does the 2019-2020 season hold in store for Newcastle? I’m predicting a similarly see-saw season that will see them eventually net out and finish in 14th place. They have enough quality in their squad to avoid the drop and as a seasoned vet in management Steve Bruce may end up surprising a few people.
Key man: Miguel Almiron
Newcastle's former record signing looked sharp in the 2nd half of the season after joining in January. Alongside his former partners in crime Salomon Rondon and Ayoze Perez, they inspired an upturn in form for the Magpies. Almiron is the only part of the triumvirate remaining and the Paraguayan will be the man tasked with providing the spark for Steve Bruce's side.
New king: Joelinton
It was widely unpopular decision not to sign Salomon Rondon - the Newcastle faithful had finally found a big man up front who was looking worthy of the number 9 shirt. Alas it proved to be short lived, and club record signing Joelinton is now the man in possession. The Brazilian, brought in for a cool £40m, has huge boots to fill and the fans, Bruce and probably most of all Mike Ashley, will be hoping he can get off to a flier.
A big season for: Sean Longstaff
The young Geordie looked mightily impressive in his eight Premier League outing before injury curtailed his season. The defensive midfielder has been likened to Michael Carrick due to his sound positional sense and the ability to spray passes from the deep lying position. Despite his inexperience, he's been courted by the Man United all summer and if he can return to fitness quickly and display those same qualities over the course of an entire season, it's fair to assume there will be yet more swooning in the red half of Manchester. Expect him to be a mainstay in Steve Bruce's side - this could be his real breakthrough year.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
13. Watford
Javi Gracia had his Hornets playing some wonderful stuff at times last season and an 11th placed finish combined with an FA Cup final appearance was just reward. The Spaniard is an astute tactician and he and his side showed their mental toughness in spades last season, as they always found a way to bounce back after a defeat. He also quickly discovered a way to get the most out of his men last season, with Ben Foster having an outstanding season between the sticks, Abdoulaye Doucoure dominating the midfield, Gerard Deulofeu providing the x factor and Troy Deeney leading from the front.
Unfortunately for Gracia, this summer transfer window has been far from a success. Signings have been few and far between so far with only the experienced pair of Craig Dawson and Danny Welbeck coming in alongside the talented Tom Dele Bashiru. There is promise in these signings, with Dawson expected to slot straight into Watford's backline, Welbeck adding another option up top for the Hornets and Dele Bashiru expected to make a first team impact in the centre of the park as the season wears on. There's talk of Ismaila Sarr coming in which would be a fantastic signing but you can't help but feel Watford have missed a trick here by not strengthening further to challenge for 7th spot.
Their lack of activity means that I'm predicting them to fare slightly worse than last season and end this year in a comfortable mid table position of 13th.
Key man: Abdoulaye Doucoure
The heartbeat of the Hornets. The Frenchman stands out as one of the best central midfielders outside of the top 6. He has a terrific engine with a real ability to power forward with the ball and the vision and guile to play a pass. He looks ready to step up to the next level and is already being chased by his former boss Marco Silva at Everton. Another top season could finally convince one of the top 6 to take the plunge.
New king: Craig Dawson
Slim pickings at Watford for a new king but saying that, Craig Dawson will add a significant amount to the Hornets. A tall, imposing figure with a serious aerial presence in both boxes. He has the versatility and ability to play at right back and centre back, and his presence should toughen and stabilise Watford's backline that looked suspect at times last season.
A big season for: Will Hughes
A tremendous player to watch. He's been unfortunate with injuries but possesses heaps of quality. A silky dribbler with a lovely left peg and the ability to make the midfield tick as well as playing the killer pass. He has often been used as a wide playmaker but with the Euros around the corner and England crying out for a playmaking midfielder, could he be the man to fill the void?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
12. Bournemouth
The Cherries have certainly turned heads as they enter their 5th season in the Premier League and last season was no different as they ended up in 14th place. They played some brilliant and scintillating football at their best but were bafflingly inconsistent and once again leaked too many goals.
Eddie Howe has developed a fine squad down on the South Coast and whilst their signings over the years have largely been hit and miss, there have been some particularly excellent ones in recent years. Purchasing Nathan Ake from Chelsea for £25m seemed rather expensive at the time, but he has blossomed into a fine centre back - the Dutchman is now at the cornerstone of Eddie Howe’s defence. Add to this the signing of David Brooks last season, the Welshman took to the top flight like a duck to water, his eye for a pass and wand of left certainly made everyone sit up and take notice. These were both added to a squad containing the likes of England sharpshooter Callum Wilson, Norway’s dynamite forward Josh King, the hard tackling Jefferson Lerma and the flying Scotsman, who had a terrific season last year, Ryan Fraser.
Looking at this summer’s transfer window, it does seem the list of incomings has the distinct possibility of being hit and miss yet again, however, that may be explained by their preference to sign young and talented players rather than the finished article. The signing of Harry Wilson on loan from Liverpool, has the genuine possibility of being a masterstroke and one of the loan signings of the season. The young winger had a phenomenal season for Derby in the Championship and propelled them to the play off final with his wondrous left foot, it of course remains to be seen how he will cope at a higher level but one things for sure, the talent is most definitely there and we can expect to see some crackers courtesy of his left peg. The Cherries have also signed up Philip Billing from Huddersfield, the highly rated Lloyd Kelly from Bristol City, Jack Stacey from Luton and Arnaut Danjuma from Club Brugge. Unfortunately for Eddie Howe, they haven’t managed to procure a goalkeeper, a troubled position at Bournemouth; Asmir Begovic has made too many errors and with only the 39 year old pole Artur Boruc and the untested Mark Travers in back up – they’ll need one of them to come good.
After a decent transfer window and an already well-stocked and talented squad, I’m expecting Bournemouth to improve slightly on their league standing from last year. Eddie Howe is a highly rated man manager, and hopefully with a little brushing up on some of his tactical choices the Cherries can start making further strides forward in the shape of a 12th placed finish.
Key man: Callum Wilson
The England sharpshooter is the man tasked with firing the Cherries to the safety of mid-table. He had a fantastic season last time out bagging 14 goals in the league and formed a deadly partnership with Ryan Fraser on the wing. If the pair of them can recreate that budding bromance this year, and others chip in more regularly, the Cherries may have a case for breaking into the top 10 once more and Wilson will be a shoe-in for the Euros next summer.
New king: Harry Wilson
The 22 year old Welshman is a few days from embarking on his maiden Premier League campaign and Bournemouth could be an ideal place for him to thrive. Notorious for playing with width, Wilson has a great chance at making his mark on the top flight in a side that plays attractive football. The winger has more than just a deadly left foot with his pace, dribbling ability and set piece expertise he has a real chance to stand out for the Cherries, like he did for Derby last season. And, if he does that, it might just open some doors for him at Anfield.
A big season for: David Brooks
Another Welsh winger, albeit one with a markedly different style than the man above. Brooks took the league by storm last year, after joining as a talented young man who was a rotation option at Sheffield United, he quickly settled on the south coast and played some sublime football. A player who has fantastic close control, is technically astute, can carry the ball, pick a pass and has tremendous vision is bound for one of the top six if he can keep display all these attributes again. It’s a shame he’ll miss the early part of the season with injury but Eddie Howe and the Bournemouth fans will be relishing his return to fitness.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
11. Southampton
Ralph Hassenhutl had a fantastic impact upon his arrival at St. Mary’s last season, the Saints were in dire trouble, playing turgid football and looked doomed for the drop before his intervention. The Austrian set about reinventing the team and looked to reconnect them back to their core philosophy of entertaining and energetic football established under Nigel Adkins, Mauricio Pochettino and Ronald Koeman. They ended the season in 16th place after seriously flirting with the drop zone all year and Hassenhutl has earned the backing of the Southampton fans.
It also seems he’s earned the backing of the board, with the Austrian given the license to spend despite holding on to a fairly bloated squad. That being said, it looks as if the Saints have utilised their money rather well this summer bringing in Che Adams from Birmingham, Moussa Djenepo from Standard Liege and completing the permanent signing of Danny Ings, which was agreed last year, from Liverpool. This is adding to a strong core at the club already in the shape of man mountain Jannick Vestegaard at centre back, Ryan Bertrand at left back, the impressive and newly appointed captain Pierre Emile Hojgbjerg in the middle of the park and Nathan Redmond up top, who looked highly impressive under Hassenhutl last season.
Che Adams in particular is one that stands out, he’ll need time to adapt to the higher level of quality in the Premier League, but has the ability to really make his mark this season. Aside from this, it’ll be interesting to see how Djenepo takes to the league, the Saints never really replaced Sadio Mane adequately after his move to Liverpool and Djenepo looks to be the closest thing to him yet. Quick, direct and skilful with a good shot – he may turn a few heads this season. Whilst, praising their incomings it must also be noted that they haven’t done a sufficient job in moving out the players they longer need. There is still time of course with European windows closing later and the option to loan players to Championship with an obligation to buy available until the end of the month but the likes of Charlie Austin, Mario Lemina, Cedric Soares and more, will need to be moved on for the good of the squad.
So how will the Saints march in on the Premier League? I’m tipping them for their best finish in a few seasons. The high energy style at St Mary’s has the fans back on side and after a full pre-season under Ralph I expect them to be able to step it up to the next level. Mid-table safety in an 11th placed finish will show great progress for both the club and the manager
Key man: Pierre Emile Hojbjerg
The Danish midfielder is Southampton’s newly appointed captain, and this stylish ball-playing midfielder will need to start coming of age and lead the way for the Saints this season. He has never fully taken off at Southampton since joining from Bayern but last season was pivotal for the 24 year old has he showed the capability to boss a midfield in the Premier League. He still has a long way to go but as one of the first names on the team sheet under Ralph Hassenhutl he’ll have ample opportunity to showcase his power, passing ability and penchant for scoring screamers.
New king: Che Adams
The pacey striker has been vigorously pursued by the Saints since January but finally managed to land the former Birmingham man for £15m. He has a ton of ability and last season was a real breakthrough for him as he netted 22 goals in the Championship. His pace and powerful running ability is sure to catch the eye as well his ability in front of goal. St. Mary’s may be the perfect place for him to develop but I wouldn’t expect it to be the 23 year olds final destination.
A big season for: James Ward Prowse
A man who I think is in a similar category to Will Hughes and has the chance to nail down a spot in England’s squad for the Euro’s next summer. The midfield schemer has a truly fantastic range of passing not to mention his delivery of a set piece is world class. If he can add a bit more consistency to his game, and strive to make a telling impact in more of his matches, it may be enough to convince Gareth Southgate to put him on the plane.

Leicester City 0 - 1 Newcastle United

🕒Kick-Off: Sat 07 Apr 2018
Competition: Premier League
Pre-Match Thread - Match Thread Archive
Come chat with us on Discord!
🥅Venue: The King Power Stadium
Refree: Stuart Attwell
📻 Radio Commentary
📺 Television Coverage (UK): BBC Radio
📺🌍 Television Coverage (International): http://www.livesoccertv.com//match/2527468/leicester-city-vs-newcastle-united/

Lineups

Leicester City XI: 1 Schmeichel, 2 Simpson, 5 Morgan, 15 Maguire Yel 21', 3 Chilwell, 14 Adrien Silva, 21 Iborra 🔄 42', 26 Mahrez, 33 Diabaté, 11 Albrighton, 9 Vardy
Subs: Gray, Iheanacho, Dragovic, Jakupovic, Okazaki, Fuchs, Choudhury
Newcastle United XI: 12 Dubravka, 22 Yedlin, 6 Lascelles Yel 21', 20 Lejeune, 3 Dummett, 11 Ritchie, 10 Diamé, 8 Shelvey, 15 Kenedy, 17 Pérez, 9 Gayle
Subs: Clark, Hayden, Manquillo, Joselu, Merino, Darlow, Atsu

Leicester City	v	Newcastle United
65%	Possession	35%
3	Shots	3
0	Shots on Target	3
4	Corners	3
3	Fouls	7

Newcastle United Goals: Shelvey (18')

Match Photos

• Leicester's Riyad Mahrez goes down in the area following a challenge by Newcastle United's Paul Dummett, but no foul is given
  
• Newcastle captain Jamaal Lascelles and Harry Maguire of Leicester City are both booked following this exchange of views
  
• Jonjo Shelvey opens the scoring with a deflected shot for Newcastle
  
• Jonjo Shelvey enjoys his goal as DeAndre Yedlin, left, joins in the celebrations
  
• Matt Ritchie checks on the wellbeing of Harry Maguire after a coming together
  
• Ayoze Perez's header at goal is saved by Leicester goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel
  
• Dwight Gayle and Wes Morgan are locked in an aerial battle
  
• A moment of applause in memory of Ray Wilkins is impeccably observed before the match
  
• Commemorative chocolate coins are handed out to fans in celebration of Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha's birthday, chairman of Leicester City
  
• Newcastle United fans gather outside the King Power Stadium before the match
  
• Riyad Mahrez arrives at the King Power Stadium as he prepares to face Newcastle United
  
• Jamie Vardy is in the mood for Leicester's match, having scored in nine of his last 12 matches for club and country
  

Match updates (via BBC)

Lineups are announced and players are warming up.
⚽ Kick Off: First Half begins.
1': Foul by Mohamed Diamé (Newcastle United).
1': Fousseni Diabaté (Leicester City) wins a free kick on the left wing.
2': Corner, Newcastle United. Conceded by Ben Chilwell.
3': Corner, Newcastle United. Conceded by Ben Chilwell.
3': Attempt saved. Ayoze Pérez (Newcastle United) header from the right side of the six yard box is saved in the bottom right corner. Assisted by Kenedy with a cross.
3': Corner, Newcastle United. Conceded by Vicente Iborra.
3': Corner, Newcastle United. Conceded by Kasper Schmeichel.
4': Attempt saved. Dwight Gayle (Newcastle United) header from the centre of the box is saved in the top centre of the goal. Assisted by Kenedy with a cross.
4': Marc Albrighton (Leicester City) wins a free kick on the left wing.
4': Foul by DeAndre Yedlin (Newcastle United).
8': Vicente Iborra (Leicester City) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
8': Foul by Matt Ritchie (Newcastle United).
13': Foul by Danny Simpson (Leicester City).
13': Kenedy (Newcastle United) wins a free kick on the left wing.
14': Vicente Iborra (Leicester City) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
14': Foul by Dwight Gayle (Newcastle United).
15': Corner, Leicester City. Conceded by Paul Dummett.
16': Attempt missed. Wes Morgan (Leicester City) header from the centre of the box misses to the right. Assisted by Ben Chilwell with a cross following a corner.
17': Offside, Newcastle United. Ayoze Pérez tries a through ball, but Dwight Gayle is caught offside.
⚽ GOAL 18': Leicester City 0, Newcastle United 1. Jonjo Shelvey (Newcastle United) right footed shot from outside the box to the bottom right corner. Assisted by Ayoze Pérez.
20': Foul by Dwight Gayle (Newcastle United).
20': Harry Maguire (Leicester City) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
YC 21': Harry Maguire (Leicester City) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
YC 21': Harry Maguire (Leicester City) is shown the yellow card.
YC 21': Jamaal Lascelles (Newcastle United) is shown the yellow card.
23': Ayoze Pérez (Newcastle United) wins a free kick on the left wing.
23': Foul by Danny Simpson (Leicester City).
26': Foul by Jonjo Shelvey (Newcastle United).
26': Vicente Iborra (Leicester City) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
28': Kenedy (Newcastle United) wins a free kick on the left wing.
28': Foul by Wes Morgan (Leicester City).
29': Offside, Newcastle United. Ayoze Pérez tries a through ball, but Dwight Gayle is caught offside.
30': Corner, Leicester City. Conceded by DeAndre Yedlin.
31': Attempt missed. Vicente Iborra (Leicester City) header from the centre of the box misses to the left. Assisted by Riyad Mahrez with a cross following a corner.
32': Kenedy (Newcastle United) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
32': Foul by Adrien Silva (Leicester City).
33': Foul by DeAndre Yedlin (Newcastle United).
33': Ben Chilwell (Leicester City) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
35': Corner, Leicester City. Conceded by Jamaal Lascelles.
35': Attempt missed. Fousseni Diabaté (Leicester City) left footed shot from outside the box misses to the right. Assisted by Harry Maguire.
37': Offside, Newcastle United. Jamaal Lascelles tries a through ball, but Dwight Gayle is caught offside.
40': 🚑 Delay in match Vicente Iborra (Leicester City) because of an injury.
🔄 42': Substitution for Leicester City ⬆ Hamza Choudhury ⬇ Vicente Iborra because of an injury.
42': Delay over. They are ready to continue.
45'+1': Corner, Leicester City. Conceded by Florian Lejeune.
Half Time 45'+3': First Half ends, Leicester City 0, Newcastle United 1.
^{---
Beep boop, I am Toon-bot, a bot coded badly by Painezor. If anything appears to be weird or off, please let him know.}

Starting XIs

Gamez dropped for Mbemba, Manquillo dropped for Yedlin, Murphy dropped for Atsu.
For stoke, Geoff Cameron made way for Bruno Martins indi. Other than that, they were unchanged from the Man Utd game.
The squads lined up like so.

Stoke’s Approach

Mark Hughes’ side has featured 3 at-the-back this season, with positive returns. Stoke came into the Newcastle unbeaten in their last 4 total games.
A boon for Newcastle was Ryan Shawcross’s injury preventing him from playing. He is Stoke’s best defender, and Hughes relies on him to marshal the defense.
Stoke seem to play through their makeshift right wingback, Mame Diouf. Crosses and incisive passing come from their right wing, the attacking trio of Shaqiri, Jese, and Choupo-Moting rack up large volumes of shots. Rarely do attacks come from their midfield.

Newcastle’s Approach

This section will probably turn into copy pasta pretty soon. Rafa is nearly unbending in his ways, whether its home or on the road, against a top-6 side or bottom-3 club.
The key component of Newcastle’s defensive approach seems to be a “space oriented zonal marking”. This means that players seem to know their zones, they re-organize themselves if they aren’t situated around the “correct” players”, and they aggressively mark if their zone is approached.
This is different than the pressing and counter pressing that more and more clubs are utilizing (see: Tottenham). Newcastle’s pressing is very specific and efficient, and it limits exertion to opportunities where the ball can actually be won.
In attack, Newcastle embraces chaos in transition — aka counter-attacks. An unfortunate trait of the season so far is that the first 15 or 20 minutes of a game are frenzied, scattershot attacks. But this has more to do with the opponent acclimating to Newcastle’s temperature, it seems. Newcastle tries to take advantage of poor shape and organization once the ball is won, and tries to get the ball upfield as soon as possible.

The Storylines of the Game

The “Frantic First 15”

Seemingly, a new trademark in the Rafa regime, although this was less frenzied than the past couple starts. Newcastle is not only happy to cede possession, but they are undeterred when possession switches at a high rate. Their attacking style is built around chaos and unorganized defenses — the more that the opposition is in transition, the higher the opportunities to exploit. Stoke, like Swansea and West Ham, took time adjusting to the pace that Newcastle wanted to play at. But eventually, Stoke played from their backfield and dictated their own slower pace, once they could get time on the ball.

Matt Ritchie’s Superb Form Continues

As usual, Matt Ritchie was statistically superb. 3 key passes, 4 successful crosses, 2 big chances created, 2 assists.
Like mostly anything about football, stats can only say so much about the actual performance. His 2 assists came from absolutely sterling technical deliveries (the 1st was a far post delivery for Atsu, the 2nd was a beautiful corner). The attacks that had the most danger came through his right side, as he displays incredible vision to find “underloaded” parts of the oppositions defense.
And Ritchie is once again no slouch on the defensive end by blocking a shot, as well as nicking an interception and a clearance.
Note: in the Ritchie gif toward the beginning, watch how Perez intelligently seals off the midfielder so that Merino can win the ball.

The Value of Isaac Hayden

Isaac Hayden’s role in the team continues to be nebulous. Of the midfield pair, he is always forward-most, like so (see average pitch position). And yet he isn’t particularly good at dribbling, he’s passing is plum average, and his tackling is practically non-existent… but he’s technically capable enough on the ball (he had a key pass vs. Stoke), he’s industrious enough in his tracking back (2 tackles and 2 clearances vs. Stoke), and he's competent enough that his movements are valuable during attacks.
Essentially, while he doesn’t directly create scoring chances as well as Shelvey, he is a better overall two-way player. It might be harder for Shelvey to get back into the Starting XI than originally thought when we took the red card against Tottenham.

Shaqiri’s Selfishness

Stoke is a good side, especially at full strength. Their comeback against Man Utd was no fluke, and they have enough quality in defense and attack to keep most sides honest.
However, a worrying pattern for Stoke against Newcastle was the awkwardness in their front 3. There’s talent, but its very clear that they are unfamiliar with each other’s movements and preferences.
And to make their lack of chemistry more pronounced, Shaqiri seemed to flip a switch after his goal, and make the attack his own. Wild, long shots came next, and Stoke’s comeback stalled then until the final 10 minutes.
Check out that Shaqiri goal again, and note how organized the backline is. Also note how even with Atsu marking Shaqiri, Merino rotating back to close down, and Hayden moving in, Shaqiri still found enough space to fire off that shot.

Newcastle Performances, by Position

GK

Rob Elliot had a very Rob Elliot performance. What does that mean, at this stage? The lad will save absolutely everything he can, and the only way to beat him is with an outstanding strike of the ball. His distribution is underwhelming.
I did quick stats study, to see how Rob ranks against over top GKs. His numbers are pretty much on par with the prior paragraph.
Bottom line: he does the damn job.

Backline

Surprisingly, Ciaran Clark didn’t have his usual excellent game. He lost a fair amount of aerial duels (4 out of 7), his passing was rough (58%), and he only had 1 tackle. A lot Clark’s contributions don’t show up in statistics, as his close-downs and anticipation limited the amount of dangerous scoring opportunities Stroke had.
DeAndre Yedlin returned to the line-up, and was a slight upgrade over Manquillo. His passing accuracy was about the same (75%), his crossing was worse (0 for 3), but his defensive work was very good for the full back position. 3 tackles, 2 interceptions, and 4 clearances. His offensive game should return with time, but he definitely didn’t overwhelm Erik Pieters' flank on this day.
Chancel Mbemba quietly put together another strong outing at LB. His right-footed-ness hurts his ability to overlap with Atsu at times, but his dribbling (2 successful dribbles out of 2 attempts) and incisive passing (1 big chance created, though Joselu botched it) is a huge upgrade over Dummett. Decent defensive work (check his limited run at LB against Dummett's averages) with 2 tackles, 2 interceptions, and 5 clearances. Chancel needs to dial back his longer passes though, as he remains wildly inaccurate with long volleys (1 out 5 were successful).
Jamaal Lascelles saved the day again (and at the beginning of the clip, nodding to his captains prowess, he was giving the ref shit for the Atsu penalty shout. His defensive work was statistically decent (1 tackle, 1 interceptions, 6 clearances, and 60% of aerial duels won), but, like Clark, his ability to mark and challenge attackers doesn’t show up in stats. His passing continues to progress, with 4/9 long balls been successful (key to our attack), and 14 out of 20 passes connecting overall.

Midfield

Hayden has already been discussed at length, so I’ll focus on Merino and a little bit of Shelvey here.
Mikel Merino continued his fine form, though he wasn’t as precise in his passing as he normally is. (25 successful, 8 unsuccessful, for 76%). Some wayward passes are forgivable from him, as he doesn’t shy away from long balls. He helped launch attacks and re-cycle possession against Stoke, but he wasn’t decisive in creating chances (0 key passes). However, his defensive work shines for such a technically sound midfielder. He had 5 clearances, 4 tackles, and 2 interceptions, not to mention he won slightly over half of his aerial duels (it doesn’t hurt to have his height, as the deepest midfielder).
Jonjo Shelvey had an uninspiring cameo. He managed 2 successful long balls, but only 6 passes total in over 20 minutes. His impact on the game was minimal.

Attacking Trio

Matt Ritchie deserves all the plaudits, and he is about as undroppable as it gets right now.
Ayoze Perez continues to frustrate as much as he inspires. His job as the “10” in our attack is much trickier than most other central attacking mids — rather than patiently picking apart a packed defense after a natural build-up (like, say, Silva or Eriksen), Ayoze has to spot the weakness in a defense with little to no time on the ball. This means his attacking stats won’t look as pretty as the others (especially ‘passing accuracy’ and ‘successful dribbles’) … his department is all about ‘chance creation’. Aoyze also tends to draw the most fouls per game, which lead to dead ball situations. He drew 3 in this match. As much as he brings to the table in attack, he gives away the ball a fair amount in his dribbling. He lead everyone with 5 “dispossessions” (non-dribbles after receiving the ball), and he had 3 shit first touches.
Christian Atsu was very effective in his game. Finally bagged a far post goal, was extremely accurate in his passing (88%), picked up a couple tackles, had 3 key passes, and created a big chance for Joselu. Murphy and Aarons will have their work cut out rotating with Atsu, at the moment.

Striker

Was a tough game for Joselu. He missed 3 “big chances”, which means he missed three statistically advantageous scoring, from a positional standpoint. To put that in perspective, he’d only missed 5 other big chances combined in 25 PL appearances.
He had 4 shots, and only 1 on target. The passing was pedestrian, which his build-up contributions, but his defensive work was solid as usual. Still, he’s the man up top — he needed to clinch at least one of those chances. Also, it should be noted he had 3-4 bad first touches.

In Summation

Stoke was in fine form, and played confidently even at St. James.
For the third game in a row, Newcastle had significantly less time on the ball but with more shots on goal. This is because the team is very well-organized in defense, as even Joselu and Perez can be seen tracking to win the ball. Stoke had 0 shots on goal within the 6-yard box, and that is a continuing trend.
The team had to win with a set piece again, but there’s good news. For one, that still feels weird to type. And secondly, Newcastle created great scoring chances. Sure, shot accuracy was a let down on the day, but that’ll revert back soon enough. The bottom line is that the Newcastle attack has dynamic qualities to it (different players create chances in myriad scenarios).

HTL.

Newcastle United 3 - 0 Chelsea

🕒Kick-Off: Sun 13 May 2018
Competition: Premier League
Pre-Match Thread - Match Thread Archive
Come chat with us on Discord!
🥅Venue: St James' Park
Refree: Martin Atkinson
👥 Attendance: 52,294
📻 Radio Commentary
📺 Television Coverage (UK): SKY GO Extra, Sky Sports Premier League
📺🌍 Television Coverage (International): http://www.livesoccertv.com//match/2568640/newcastle-united-vs-chelsea/

Lineups

Newcastle United XI: 12 Dubravka, 22 Yedlin, 6 Lascelles, 20 Lejeune, 3 Dummett, 8 Shelvey, 10 Diamé 🔄 87', 11 Ritchie 🔄 72', 17 Pérez, 7 Murphy, 9 Gayle 🔄 48'
Subs: Hayden, Manquillo, Joselu, Merino, Haidara, Darlow, Gámez
Chelsea XI: 13 Courtois, 28 Azpilicueta, 27 Christensen, 24 Cahill, 15 Moses, 8 Barkley 🔄 77', 7 Kanté, 14 Bakayoko Yel 62', 33 Emerson, 10 E Hazard 🔄 82', 18 Giroud 🔄 76'
Subs: Caballero, Rüdiger, Alonso, Fàbregas, Morata, Pedro, Willian
Formations

Newcastle United	v	Chelsea
42%	Possession	58%
16	Shots	6
6	Shots on Target	2
4	Corners	2
11	Fouls	10

Newcastle United Goals: Gayle (23'), Pérez (59', 63')

Match Photos

• Cesar Azpilicueta seems stuck to the ball as he heads clear
  
• Olivier Giroud and Florian Lejeune compete for the ball
  
• Cesar Azpilicueta beats Ayoze Perez to a header
  
• Andreas Christensen tries to stop Ayoze Perez
  
• Dwight Gayle turns away to celebrate after giving Newcastle the lead
  
• Chelsea substitutes Marcos Alonso, Cesc Fabregas and Pedro take in the surroundings of St James' Park
  
• Newcastle's Mikel Merino, Florian Lejeune, Mohamed Diame and Massadio Haidara arrive
  
• Newcastle United manager Rafael Benitez gives fans the thumbs-up as he arrives at St James' Park
  

Match updates (via BBC)

Lineups are announced and players are warming up.
⚽ Kick Off: First Half begins.
1': Paul Dummett (Newcastle United) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
1': Foul by Ross Barkley (Chelsea).
4': Foul by Tiemoué Bakayoko (Chelsea).
4': Matt Ritchie (Newcastle United) wins a free kick on the right wing.
10': Corner, Newcastle United. Conceded by Thibaut Courtois.
9': Attempt blocked. Mohamed Diamé (Newcastle United) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Ayoze Pérez.
9': Attempt saved. Jonjo Shelvey (Newcastle United) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Dwight Gayle.
13': Gary Cahill (Chelsea) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
13': Foul by Mohamed Diamé (Newcastle United).
10': Attempt missed. Mohamed Diamé (Newcastle United) right footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the left. Assisted by Jacob Murphy.
14': Hand ball by N'Golo Kanté (Chelsea).
19': Tiemoué Bakayoko (Chelsea) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
19': Foul by Ayoze Pérez (Newcastle United).
21': Attempt missed. Mohamed Diamé (Newcastle United) left footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the left.
23': Attempt saved. Jacob Murphy (Newcastle United) left footed shot from the left side of the six yard box is saved in the top centre of the goal. Assisted by Matt Ritchie.
⚽ GOAL 23': Newcastle United 1, Chelsea 0. Dwight Gayle (Newcastle United) header from very close range to the centre of the goal.
24': Attempt missed. Jonjo Shelvey (Newcastle United) left footed shot from the centre of the box is close, but misses the top left corner. Assisted by Dwight Gayle.
26': Foul by Eden Hazard (Chelsea).
26': Ayoze Pérez (Newcastle United) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
27': Foul by Ayoze Pérez (Newcastle United).
24': Attempt blocked. Ayoze Pérez (Newcastle United) right footed shot from more than 35 yards is blocked.
27': Emerson (Chelsea) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
28': Foul by Olivier Giroud (Chelsea).
28': Jamaal Lascelles (Newcastle United) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
27': Attempt saved. Dwight Gayle (Newcastle United) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom right corner. Assisted by Ayoze Pérez.
33': César Azpilicueta (Chelsea) wins a free kick on the right wing.
33': Foul by Ayoze Pérez (Newcastle United).
34': Corner, Newcastle United. Conceded by Andreas Christensen.
35': Corner, Newcastle United. Conceded by Ross Barkley.
34': Attempt blocked. Ayoze Pérez (Newcastle United) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked.
36': Olivier Giroud (Chelsea) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
36': Foul by Paul Dummett (Newcastle United).
37': Foul by N'Golo Kanté (Chelsea).
37': Ayoze Pérez (Newcastle United) wins a free kick on the left wing.
37': Emerson (Chelsea) wins a free kick on the left wing.
37': Foul by DeAndre Yedlin (Newcastle United).
42': 🚑 Delay in match Dwight Gayle (Newcastle United) because of an injury.
43': Delay over. They are ready to continue.
44': Corner, Chelsea. Conceded by Paul Dummett.
45': Foul by Gary Cahill (Chelsea).
45': Dwight Gayle (Newcastle United) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
45'+2': Attempt missed. Ayoze Pérez (Newcastle United) right footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the left. Assisted by Matt Ritchie.
Half Time 45'+3': First Half ends, Newcastle United 1, Chelsea 0.
Second Half begins Newcastle United 1, Chelsea 0.
46': Emerson (Chelsea) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
46': Foul by Matt Ritchie (Newcastle United).
🔄 48': Substitution for Newcastle United ⬆ Joselu ⬇ Dwight Gayle because of an injury.
52': Corner, Chelsea. Conceded by Martin Dubravka.
52': Attempt saved. Olivier Giroud (Chelsea) left footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the top left corner. Assisted by Ross Barkley with a cross.
56': 🚑 Delay in match Mohamed Diamé (Newcastle United) because of an injury.
56': Delay over. They are ready to continue.
59': Attempt blocked. Jonjo Shelvey (Newcastle United) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
⚽ GOAL 59': Newcastle United 2, Chelsea 0. Ayoze Pérez (Newcastle United) right footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom left corner. Assisted by Jonjo Shelvey.
61': Corner, Newcastle United. Conceded by César Azpilicueta.
62': Mohamed Diamé (Newcastle United) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
62': Foul by Tiemoué Bakayoko (Chelsea).
62': Attempt saved. Ross Barkley (Chelsea) left footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Eden Hazard with a cross.
63': Ayoze Pérez (Newcastle United) wins a free kick on the right wing.
63': Foul by Eden Hazard (Chelsea).
⚽ GOAL 63': Newcastle United 3, Chelsea 0. Ayoze Pérez (Newcastle United) right footed shot from very close range to the centre of the goal. Assisted by Florian Lejeune following a set piece situation.
YC 65': Tiemoué Bakayoko (Chelsea) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
62': Attempt saved. Ross Barkley (Chelsea) left footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal.
68': Foul by Matt Ritchie (Newcastle United).
68': Gary Cahill (Chelsea) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
YC 62': Tiemoué Bakayoko (Chelsea) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
67': Gary Cahill (Chelsea) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
69': Attempt missed. Victor Moses (Chelsea) left footed shot from the left side of the six yard box misses to the left.
70': Attempt missed. Olivier Giroud (Chelsea) left footed shot from a difficult angle on the left is close, but misses the top left corner. Assisted by Victor Moses.
55': 🚑 Delay in match Mohamed Diamé (Newcastle United) because of an injury.
70': Attempt missed. Olivier Giroud (Chelsea) left footed shot from a difficult angle on the left is close, but misses the top left corner. Assisted by Victor Moses with a cross.
71': 🚑 Delay in match DeAndre Yedlin (Newcastle United) because of an injury.
71': Delay over. They are ready to continue.
72': Foul by Paul Dummett (Newcastle United).
72': Victor Moses (Chelsea) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
🔄 72': Substitution for Newcastle United ⬆ Isaac Hayden ⬇ Matt Ritchie.
76': Ayoze Pérez (Newcastle United) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
76': Foul by Tiemoué Bakayoko (Chelsea).
🔄 76': Substitution for Chelsea ⬆ Álvaro Morata ⬇ Olivier Giroud.
🔄 77': Substitution for Chelsea ⬆ Willian ⬇ Ross Barkley.
74': Attempt blocked. Joselu (Newcastle United) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
78': Offside, Chelsea. César Azpilicueta tries a through ball, but Álvaro Morata is caught offside.
67': Foul by Matt Ritchie (Newcastle United).
🔄 82': Substitution for Chelsea ⬆ Pedro ⬇ Eden Hazard.
82': Attempt missed. Joselu (Newcastle United) right footed shot from outside the box misses to the left. Assisted by Ayoze Pérez.
84': Offside, Chelsea. Tiemoué Bakayoko tries a through ball, but Victor Moses is caught offside.
84': Attempt blocked. Tiemoué Bakayoko (Chelsea) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Pedro.
85': Foul by Ayoze Pérez (Newcastle United).
85': N'Golo Kanté (Chelsea) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
🔄 87': Substitution for Newcastle United ⬆ Massadio Haidara ⬇ Mohamed Diamé.
88': Foul by Ayoze Pérez (Newcastle United).
88': Andreas Christensen (Chelsea) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
89': Attempt missed. Pedro (Chelsea) right footed shot from outside the box is too high. Assisted by N'Golo Kanté.
88': Foul by Isaac Hayden (Newcastle United).
Newcastle United 3 - 0 Chelsea
^{---
Beep boop, I am Toon-bot, a bot coded badly by Painezor. If anything appears to be weird or off, please let him know.}