Palace head to the North East to take on a Newcastle team who have – like Palace – had a tough opening set of fixtures. Both teams have looked good without picking up as many points as they deserve.
Ahead of the game I got the inside track on Newcastle from the guys at podcast and YouTube channel All With Smiling Faces
Q – What’s your perspective on the season so far?
AWSF – We’ve had a great start to the season, some difficult fixtures to get us up and running with the season ahead, with away trips to Brighton, Wolves and Anfield. We’ve managed to go toe-to-toe with last season’s champions and runners-up so things are looking decent for United. The ambitions for this season are a solid top ten finish and a cup run, let’s try and get a trip to Wembley!
Q – Which of your signings are you most excited about?
AWSF – We have brought in some great players, Nick Pope being a fantastic addition, and he’s had a remarkable start to the season but after his debut on Wednesday I’m now most excited about Alexander Isak. The kid looks like the real deal. Scoring on his debut and having a second ruled offside, he looks like an ideal fit for the Premier League.
Q – If you had a magic wand – who would you be signing?
AWSF – With the summer window closing we will now be looking at January which is just 13 league games away! I wouldn’t be shocked if we tried once again for either James Maddison or Youri Tielemans from Leicester or Joao Pedro from Watford. I’m 100% certain than we will once again spend wisely and improve the team for that final push, just like we did the previous campaign.
TEB – Just hands of Gallagher! And Wilf for that matter!
Q – What’s your perspective on Palace?
AWSF – Palace are a great side, and Zaha is on absolute fire so it will be an interesting watch come Saturday. I think Palace are probably a club that Newcastle have looked and thought, that’s the team we will be challenging for that “outside chance” of a European spot this season. I think both sides have enough quality to challenge for that 6th, 7th spot.
TEB – If only, Palace in Europe would be incredible…
Q – To the game on Saturday, where do you think it will be won and lost?
AWSF – Midfield, the game always comes down to who can control that midfield area. If Bruno is back for Newcastle, then Palace will find it hard to break down that Brazilian partnership of Bruno and Joelinton. It will also come down to who can finish their chances and both sides aren’t short of players who know where the back of the net is.
I think Newcastle go into this game on the back of a fantastic performance at Anfield and they’ll want to prove some points against their next opposition. St James’ Park will be deafening as it has been post takeover, so your players will have to keep calm under the pressure and atmosphere on Tyneside.
Big thanks to the team at the AWSF podcast – you can find them on Twitter – @awsfpodcast, and YouTube – @gallowgateshots
