Two teams who have had very contrasting starts to the season meet at St James’ Park in Sunday’s lunchtime kick-off.
Newcastle have picked up four points from their opening two games whilst Fulham have only managed one under new boss Martin Jol. The Geordies will be full of confidence going into this game after last week’s Tyne Wear derby win over fierce rivals Sunderland. Even the imminent departure of Joey Barton to QPR won’t dampen the feel good factor that is currently flowing through Tyneside after that result. Alan Pardew’s side have surprised many with their performances thus far although Shola Ameobi and Demba Ba will need to start scoring goals. Dan Gosling could make his first Premier League start for the club in place of Barton whilst summer signing Sylvain Marveaux is also pushing for a start after recovering from injury. Pardew is likely to name the same side that started against the Black Cats with match winner Ryan Taylor continuing to fill in at left back.
Fulham on the other hand were shocking in last week’s defeat away to Wolves and need to turn in a performance this weekend to finally kick start their season. Jol’s side should have no problem scoring goals with Bobby Zamora and Andy Johnson up front but they have yet to hit the net this season. They’ll need be at the top of their game to get past a Newcastle defence that hasn’t conceded a goal in the league so far. Clint Dempsey will be key to achieving this and could be deployed on the right side to take on Ryan Taylor who Jol will certainly see as a weak link in the Magpies rear-guard.
With the Toon Army still smarting from their win against Sunderland they will be certainly be the favourites for this one. However they must be wary of a Fulham side who are desperate to get their campaign off and running.
Key Players
[player_profile slug=”jonas-gutierrez” align=”left”]Jonas Gutierrez – Performs key defensive duties and will be key to easing the pressure on Taylor with Jol likely to target the stand in left-back.
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[player_profile slug=”clint-dempsey” align=”left”]Clint Dempsey – The American is a real attacking threat down either flank and will be given the instruction to get at Taylor down right wing.
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Verdict 2-1
