Newcastle United have a tough game ahead on Saturday as they welcome Fulham to St James' Park for a good old 3pm kick-off, which of course means no live TV coverage in the UK.
Newcastle and Fulham's current form could not be more contrasting right now so Saturday's game is giving us a touch of anxiety with Fulham coming to Newcastle off the back of two consecutive 5-0 wins, while we go into the game off the back of three straight defeats.
We've asked Stephen from Fulhamish if he thinks Fulham have enough to see off the challenge from Newcastle.
How have you enjoyed the season so far? Where do you think you’ll finish?
It's been a really bizarre campaign so far, because up until the last few weeks, there was a large frustration around the fanbase about the transfer business, and where the goals were coming from. We really struggled to score from the onset with the loss of a certain number nine, and seemingly never replaced him. But now everything has just clicked, we find ourselves in 10th place and things are looking very positive - credit to Marco Silva for being patient and embedding his strategies into the squad and new players over time!
How is life after Mitrović? You certainly don’t seem to be struggling for goals lately!
There was certainly something missing up top when our favourite Serbian departed the club, it was really hard for us to take at first, and it felt like Raul was never designed to be a replacement as he joined early before the transfer to Saudi Arabia started to gain momentum. It was certainly a tough period of transition for the club, however now the confidence is high again, players are finding their feet in their preferred position and we've been blown away by the goals we've produced over the last month - very happy! As long as Raul can keep his head up now, things are looking very positive. Plus there is hopefully some money in the bank to spend in January.
Who is your best player? Who is one to watch for the future?
There really is a strong handful of players you could pick so I'll say two. Bernd Leno is simply superb, I don't know how the owners managed to get him from Arsenal for such a cheap fee, and the shot stopper just signed a new contract with the club and seems very happy - a true professional. The obvious choice of course is João Palhinha. My word that guy knows how to tackle, year on year he makes the most tackles in the Premier League which is credit to his tenacity, awareness and physical prowess - we'll be very lucky if he's still a Fulham player post January. One for the future - our squad is a lot more senior than most others, but at age 23, Calvin Bassey has started to integrate himself into the Fulham squad and will hopefully be a name on our first team team sheet for years to come.
What are your thoughts on Newcastle and Eddie Howe?
So positive. It's refreshing to see Newcastle performing so well and breaking the top 4 regular names alongside the likes of Brighton and Aston Villa. Whilst Howe has had significant investment to support his work, financially the squad doesn't compare to the likes of United, City and Arsenal in my opinion and yet the team are achieving brilliant things, so that's credit to the system Eddie has implemented and the hard work of the team. Long may it continue! I can only see the club growing from strength to strength over the years and seeing them in Europe against the big boys was really exciting.
If you could have one NUFC player in the Fulham team, who would it be and why?
We have a couple of ex-Fulham boys in your squad with the likes of Dan Burn and Matt Targett who we are fond of and it's great to see them doing so well. If it was for one season, I'd love to take Trippier and he offers so much in attack, Fantasy League dream! Long term, Isak would be exactly what we need in our squad. Feel free to donate them to us.
Finally, what is your score prediction?
This is definitely a game to be had at and I think the team that's more aggressive going forward might have the edge. I'm going straight down the middle with 2-2, ordinarily I'd say the Toon army edge this, but with the last couple of results going against them and the energy levels being a tad lower due to the Champions League and injuries, coupled with Fulham's form at the moment, I think it will make for a ferocious game full of goals.
PL | GD | PTS | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
1 |
Liverpool
|
6 | 10 | 15 |
2 |
Manchester City
|
6 | 8 | 14 |
3 |
Arsenal
|
6 | 7 | 14 |
4 |
Chelsea
|
6 | 8 | 13 |
5 |
Aston Villa
|
6 | 3 | 13 |
6 |
Fulham
|
6 | 3 | 11 |
7 |
Newcastle United
|
6 | 1 | 11 |
8 |
Tottenham Hotspur
|
6 | 7 | 10 |
9 |
Brighton
|
6 | 2 | 9 |
10 |
Nottingham Forest
|
6 | 1 | 9 |
11 |
Bournemouth
|
6 | -1 | 8 |
12 |
Brentford
|
6 | -2 | 7 |
13 |
Manchester United
|
6 | -3 | 7 |
14 |
West Ham United
|
6 | -4 | 5 |
15 |
Ipswich
|
6 | -5 | 4 |
16 |
Everton
|
6 | -8 | 4 |
17 |
Leicester
|
6 | -4 | 3 |
18 |
Crystal Palace
|
6 | -4 | 3 |
19 |
Southampton
|
6 | -9 | 1 |
20 |
Wolves
|
6 | -10 | 1 |