I'm really looking forward to Newcastle's home game against Manchester United. Newcastle's form is on the rise again, and despite their troubles, Man Utd are in good form in the EPL, so I'm expecting a goal fest in the first round of December's EPL Saturday enders!
Newcastle played well at home against Chelsea last week, and also played well against Paris Saint-Germain in midweek, but unfortunately they failed to get all three points due to a controversial VAR decision. Despite some of their key players being out with injuries, manager Eddie Hervey has managed to instill a style of play in the team that tries to press their opponents without possession, and then punishes them with counterattacks when they do regain possession of the ball.
I'd like to place a special emphasis here on Newcastle's frontline players. Alexandre Ishak, Anthony Gorton and Mikel Amiran have been outstanding in both attack and defense over the past few weeks, their ability to press the opposition without the ball, and their ability to assist the locks in defense from time to time and then have the instincts and composure to be the last ones in front of the goal have made them an integral part of Eddie Hervey's system.
Despite having to juggle the UEFA Europa League this season, Eddie Hervey has done a great job. Especially considering the fact that the team still doesn't have the depth needed to regularly cope with European and domestic competitions, as in the last few matches both the regulars and reserves have seen the faces of some young ladder players, he has tried his best to exploit the players' maximum potential under the limited conditions, and the players have responded with outstanding performances.
As for Man Utd, I thought their winning streak in the league was going to end last week, but what I saw in the last round was impressive, it's the first time in a long time that I've seen Man Utd dominate a game and win comfortably, and it looks as if there is a little bit of a strong comeback.
Young Alejandro Canazo's stunning inverted goal early in the game helped United get into the game, but before that, it was often the case that United made mistakes that led to narrow victories in each of their games. I think that's changed, and a lot of the credit must go to Harry Makouni. He brings stability and leadership to United's backline and has kept the last two Premier League matches scoreless alongside Viktor Dilov, which is by far the best central combination for United at the moment.
Having said that, I think United will concede against Newcastle this weekend, and these two stalwarts are laying a solid foundation for the rest of the team to put their talents to good use on the pitch, as young midfielder Gopi Mannu, who made his debut against Ewarton, proved. The center of gravity in midfield has been a problem for United all season, and Tannhäuser finally bit the bullet and made the change, and it paid off for him. The youngster is very good, and while his ability as a player is very high, I think the presence and experience of Halimaguni and Vitorian Dilov behind him will be key to keeping him up and helping him finish games.
