Newcastle vs Fulham preview: Aleksandar Mitrovic has point to prove against Magpies
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Saturday 22 December 2018 07:47, UK
Newcastle will be looking to secure a second straight Premier League victory when Fulham travel to St James' Park on Saturday.
Newcastle head into the game having climbed to 14th place in the table as a result of their win at Huddersfield, although with Liverpool and Manchester United waiting in the wings over the Christmas period, Benitez knows how quickly things can change.
He said: "I think we are doing well, but always when I talk about this league, the top sides are so strong that when you have a bad run because you play two or three of them in a row, then everything seems difficult.
"But after, maybe you have two or three games that you can win and you get the points and it seems that everything is fine."
Meanwhile, Aleksandar Mitrovic will return to Newcastle looking to prove a point against his former club, with new Fulham boss Claudio Ranieri hoping the Serbia striker can make a big impact back on familiar ground.
Ranieri insisted, however, that the only reason Mitrovic's Newcastle spell did not quite work out was purely down to the time it takes to acclimatise to English football.
"When you play in another country you can touch the ball two, three times," said Ranieri. "When you play in England one touch is too much, you have to play half-touch.
"That's it. And the player who came in had to think about it. You try to transmit this but only the experience, you need six months, maybe one year to understand this.
"I hope when a player goes back to his previous club he wants to show something more. I hope everything for Aleksandar, believe me, I pray.
"Aleksandar in Newcastle didn't do a very good job because when a player comes from another country it's not easy to adapt immediately to English football.
"But in Fulham he's adapted very, very well. And I hope he can do a very outstanding match. I don't know if they will give a warm welcome to Aleksandar but I hope Aleksandar will make a very good match."
Team news
Ciaran Clark is out of the game after damaging an ankle during last weekend's 1-0 win at Huddersfield, although fellow defender Federico Fernandez (calf) is fit, but midfielder Jonjo Shelvey continues to fight his way back from a thigh problem.
Midfielder Ki Sung-yueng could make his final appearance before meeting up with the South Korea squad for the Asian Cup and full-back DeAndre Yedlin returns from suspension, while Florian Lejeune is available after recovering from a serious knee injury, leaving keeper Karl Darlow (elbow) as the only other name on the casualty list.
As for the visitors, Frank Anguissa remains injured, however, Ryan Sessegnon is set to feature against Wolves on Boxing Day having recovered from a groin problem.
But both Stefan Johansen and Mitrovic are one yellow card away from suspension.
Opta stats
- Newcastle have lost their last three matches against Fulham, with the last two meetings arriving in the 2016-17 Championship campaign. They've not lost four in a row versus Fulham in all competitions since October 1982
- Fulham won on their last visit to face Newcastle at St. James' Park in March 2017, winning 3-1. The Whites had netted just two goals in their previous six trips before netting three last time out
- No team has lost more home games in the top four tiers of English league football this season than Newcastle (7).
- Fulham are yet to keep a clean sheet in any of their 17 league games so far this season - only four clubs have had a longer run from the start of a Premier League campaign (Blackburn 27 in 2011/12, Norwich 21 in 2011/12, Bolton 20 in 2009/10 and Leicester 18 in 1994/95)
- In total, Fulham haven't kept a clean sheet in their last 21 Premier League games, shipping at least twice in 18 of those
- Newcastle have lost nine of their last 14 Premier League games against promoted sides (W3 D2), including at home against Wolves this season
Merson's prediction
Newcastle. Without a doubt.
You're never going to stay up if you can't keep a clean sheet. West Ham beat Fulham in second gear, a struggling Manchester United the week before were 3-0 up in no time.
Huddersfield have got a chance of staying up because they may only need to score one goal to win a football match, with a good defence, but Fulham need to score two or three each week to even get near.
I really can't see Fulham keeping a clean sheet between now and the end of the season. They could be cut adrift, it's getting to that stage of the season. I'm not sure what this appointment of Claudio Ranieri has brought Fulham.
PAUL PREDICTS: 3-0 (16/1 with Sky Bet)
