Newcastle will be trying to secure their first victory of the season once again on Saturday, when they host Watford at St James' Park. Last season the Hornets defeated the Magpies in both fixtures, 2-1 in Watford with goals from Roberto Pereyra and Adre Gray and 3-0 in Newcastle with Will Hughes and Andre Gray on the score sheet. In fact, Watford have won the last five matches against Newcastle in all competitions, the last time the Magpies won a direct match was all the way back in 2010, when both teams were playing in the Championship.
Newcastle are still looking for their first victory of the season after having already played ten Premier League matches and a League Cup game. They have lost eight of their eleven matches in all competitions so far this season and have scored in just one of their last five matches. Manager Rafa Benitez is still in charge and hoping to restore some confidence in his players, but all they managed to achieve this season were three goalless draws, all of them away from home. Jamie Sterry and Florian Lejeune are injured and won't be part of the squad for Saturday's match.
Watford had a great start to the season, then a period of terrible results, and now they seem to embark on a new winning streak. Last week they defeated Huddersfield 3-0 at home to record their second consecutive win after the 2-0 success at Wolves immediately after the last international break. The Hornets are now seventh in the Premier League table, with six wins out of ten matches and just three defeats. Tom Cleverley, Daryl Janmaat and Sebastian Prodl are injured for the away side, while Craig Cathcart, Troy Deeney and Nathaniel Chalobah are injury doubts ahead of Saturday's match.
Probable line-ups:
Newcastle: Dubravka - Yedlin, Lascelles, Fernandez, Dummett - Ritchie, Shelvey, Diame, Kenedy - Perez - Rondon
Watford: Foster - Femenia, Cathcart, Kabasele, Masina - Doucoure, Capoue - Hughes, Deulofeu, Pereyra - Success
My prediction: Watford to win 1-0, Newcastle seem pretty much useless this season.
Here are the odds for the match at Bet365:
Newcastle win - 2.54
Draw - 3.20
Watford win - 2.75
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