Chris Sutton has made his prediction for who will win on Saturday - Newcastle or Bournemouth

Eddie Howe faces his former club, Bournemouth for the fifth time on Saturday having only bested them once so far.

Newcastle have already come a cropper to struggling Bournemouth this season putting them alongside the likes of Luton Town and Nottingham Forest in the "teams we should have beaten but didn't" category.

It's customary to think that with it being at St James' Park then it's a mere formality, but Nottingham Forest proved that's not always the case, and with everything that's going on right now, the uncertainty around Dan Ashworth and the long layoff facing Callum Wilson, the Magpies' heads might not be fully in the game.

Chris Sutton has been copying off Paul Merson again

So, that's our excuses made early in case it all goes wrong, but what does the BBC's Chris Sutton think is going to happen?

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As is often the case, Sutton's prediction is eerily similar (exactly the same) as that of Paul Merson with the former Blackburn man going with a home win.

"Newcastle's results have picked up a bit recently but now there is a lot of talk about their sporting director Dan Ashworth going to Manchester United.

"Bournemouth have already beaten them once this season, which was when it all kicked off afterwards as Magpies captain Kieran Trippier had an altercation with his side's fans.

"I just can't back against Newcastle at home, though. Their manager Eddie Howe is also facing his old club and he cannot afford to lose to them on his own patch.

"Anthony Gordon is fit for the Magpies, and he will be a threat, while Bournemouth's form has dropped off a bit this year after they ended 2023 so well.

"Sutton's prediction: 2-1"

We'll take a win in any form just to keep on climbing

The consensus seems to be a 2-1 win, and while we'd hope that the margin would be bigger, we'd definitely take it.

A win is a win and we need to keep that pressure on the top teams, especially if we want to shock everyone and close that 11-point gap to the top four.

It's just as well we don't rely on out strikers for goals, isn't it?