Fulham at Newcastle United

Given Newcastle’s form this season, nobody would rightly expect us to get anything from this road match.
That’s why I’m predicting a thumping Fulham win, three more points and five straight top flight wins, six in all competitions. Because our form hasn’t been too shabby either…

 

Sunday's match will be carried on Peacock with kickoff at 9am EST.

Newcastle's visit to Craven Cottage in October was the worst loss for Fulham this season. The 1-4 defeat was one of only two times this season that Fulham lost by more than one goal (the other was the match immediately following Newcastle against West Ham). Of course a major factor was that Fulham played with just 10 men for 82 minutes because of Chalobah's boneheaded tackle that saw him sent off. But beyond that Fulham also didn't have an optimal squad - Mbabu and Kurzawa played as fullbacks, Chalobah was in for Palhinha while he served a yellow-card suspension, and James was on the wing. Kurzawa and Mitrovic both picked up injuries that ended their days in the first half and Mbabu was so unimpressive that he was also pulled just before halftime. So it wasn't just the red card, it was a nightmare all around.

In a strange twist of fate, because Robinson will serve a one-match suspension, Kurzawa will likely see Premier League action for only the second time this season against Newcastle again. At least he'll be somewhat familiar with the opposition. Fortunately Fulham should be in better shape for this match. Palhinha will be able to play rather than Chalobah, Tete should be in at right-back, and Willian or Wilson would be a step up over James. The team will have to deal with some tired legs since they just played on Thursday and there are some players who picked up some small issues that may not be ready yet, like Willian.

Fulham is already having a fantastic season and Newcastle is really good this year, so a loss wouldn't sting too bad but it would be sad to see that impressive string of W's end. A thumping win @jumpkutz ? Well that would be dreamland!

 

Marco Silva mentioned having tired players and the risk of injuries often enough that I'm thinking he rotates some tomorrow. Not many, perhaps just one. Jedi gets an enforced rest, but I think Willian may not start, either--he is 34. Bobby may get a breather, too. Hard to see other changes he can make without a significant drop-off in quality.

How long is the contract we gave Mbabu? I think we have to send him out on loan, if anyone takes him, to get some of that money back.

 

What?

 

Probably a fair result, but I would have preferred to win unfairly. Andreas needs to take over the PK duties.

An important task facing Silva now: don’t let the collective spirit take a hit. And Mitro’s individual confidence. Tottenham at home next Monday, and matches don’t get much bigger. We will now have 8 days to prepare, and Tottenham will be coming off a Thursday night game against Man City. I smell a chance.

 

Tough to get a result with only five shots, none on target. And yes, someone else should be given penalty duties. But Newcastle are very, very good this season. They may not catch Arsenal (nobody will, methinks) but they’re a lock for the CL next season. Let’s hope we don’t have to go to penalties to decide a match this season…

 

Definitely need a new penalty taker as you all mentioned. I'll answer the call if asked.

Frustrating morning. So close to a somewhat undeserved point or better.

 

The highlights:


I'm in agreement with everyone on PK responsibilities. The announcers asked the question "Have you ever seen someone kick a penalty off themselves before?" The answer is yes, I have - Mitrovic has done it at least once before. He has many extraordinary talents, but PKs are not one of them.

I think Fulham deserved a point from this and generally did pretty well defensively, but Fulham really struggles in the final phase of the game to keep the ball out of the net. In most 15 minute chunks of a match Fulham has given up 4 goals so far this season - in the 61-75th minute they have given up 5, but then the final 15 minutes (including injury time) Fulham has let in 8 goals this season. Four of Fulham's seven losses are directly attributed to these late scores. If all of those matches had ended in draws, Fulham would be one point behind Newcastle and Manchester United.

 

Newcastle are a tricky side to gauge because I feel we think of them as this bumbling legacy club: one with history and a massive fanbase but could not get out of its own way.

But, since they were bought by the KSA and bankrolled by (blood) oil money in late 2021, they spent nearly a quarter billion pounds in 2022 alone. And unlike our dumb neighbors up the road who have spent slightly less but still way too much on every winger or #10, Newcastle has spent that absurd outlay on essentially an entire new, and good, team and are managed by a very competent staff (that is cool with sportswashing). They're showing they are firmly a top 4/5 side.

It's wild to me that they spent £58m on Isak, have him only play 5 matches due to injury before today, and barely skipped a beat all season. So with that all said, theres nothing wrong with losing 1-0 late to a club like that.

The manner, on the other hand ¯\_(ツ)_/¯