Newcastle United will be looking to return to winning ways when they welcome Watford to St James' Park this weekend.
Rafael Benitez’s side opened the scoring in their most recent encounter at Old Trafford, but they could not prevent Manchester United from turning the game on its head and sealing a comfortable 4-1 victory. That result means the Magpies have only won one of their last six matches in the Premier League – and that 1-0 triumph over Crystal Palace was a tad fortuitous, with the Eagles probably the better team in a close affair at St James’ Park – but Newcastle are still five points clear of the drop zone as they seek to avoid an immediate return to the Championship. Benitez will have been a little disappointed by how easily his side were opened up by Jose Mourinho’s United, but it is worth noting that they have not conceded more than one goal in a home match since the opening weekend.
Watford brought a three-match winless run to an end last time out, beating West Ham United 2-0 in front of their own supporters at Vicarage Road. It was only the Hornets’ second victory at home in the Premier League this term, with Marco Silva’s men again demonstrating their qualities in a cohesive, well-balanced performance. The speculation linking Watford’s Portuguese boss with Everton has continued in the last few days – and the ex-Hull, Sporting CP and Olympiacos head coach hardly played down talk of a move in his post-match press conference after the West Ham win – but at the time of writing Silva remains in charge of the Hertfordshire outfit.
Newcastle will be without Isaac Hayden (suspension), Christian Atsu (thigh) and Jamaal Lascelles (ankle), but Mikel Merino could return following a back problem and Paul Dummett is in contention after an injury lay-off of his own.
Troy Deeney is banned for Watford, who will also be missing Kiko Femenia (knock), Isaac Success (knee), Craig Cathcart (knee), Younes Kaboul (hamstring), Nathaniel Chalobah (knee) and Tommie Hoban (knee) for Saturday’s long trip to the northeast.
This will probably be a tight encounter between two teams who look to be pretty evenly matched. A low-scoring draw could be on the cards at St James’ Park this weekend.
