More than a quarter of the season has passed and Newcastle United are sitting pretty at the top of the table with a three point lead (basically four points due to their superior goal difference) over second placed Brighton.
Newcastle’s opponents this weekend are lowly Cardiff and the Magpies should be feeling pretty positive about extending their lead at the top. Brighton have a relatively tricky tie away to Bristol City (who sit in sixth) and if they lose, Newcastle could open up a six point gap with a victory over Cardiff.
If we were to go by what history tells us, this should be a pretty routine win for the Magpies; Newcastle have won their last eight games against the Bluebirds in a run which stretches all the way back to 1981. To add to this, Cardiff City have lost their 16 of the last 17 away league trips to St. James’ Park; the only time they won was back in 1963.
Newcastle’s form has been brilliant of late with seven wins in a row in all competitions. Cardiff City’s form, on the other hand, has been up and down with three losses, two wins and a draw from their last six games. Whilst Newcastle are the highest scorers in the league with 32 goals, Cardiff are the second lowest with only 13 goals. This is all pointing towards a comfortable Newcastle win.
Regarding injuries and suspensions, Benitez will be without Matt Ritchie as he is suspended after having picked up five yellows. However, Dwight Gayle has overcome his hamstring problem and is now fit to play. This gives Benitez a nice dilemma over who to play up front.
For Cardiff, Rickie Lambert is a doubt as he is still suffering from a badly cut shin. It has been reported that several of their players have been affected by a illness ahead of the clash.
If Newcastle go on to beat Cardiff (making it EIGHT wins in a row), it will be their joint longest run of victories since between March and April of 2010. Giving their current form, we are backing them to achieve just that!
Prediction: 3-0
