Michael Owen will lead his side out against Wigan on Boxing Day at the JJB Stadium as Newcastle chase Wigan for a place in the top of the table. Both teams take to the pitch with 22 points, however Wigan have a game in hand (against Manchester United) and so Joe Kinnear will be looking to take all three points in order to ensure a gap between the two clubs.
This year the table is extremely tight with just 7 points separating 6th place from 14th with all managers keeping a watchful eye on the other results as a win could move a team 5 places in one day.
Both Wigan and Newcastle go into the game on the back of wins, and both teams have taken 10 points from their last 6 games. However Wigan have had a lengthy break after their match against Manchester United due to take place last weekend was rescheduled to accommodated United's additional fixture.
Joe Kinnear will be without Joey Barton who is still suffering with a knee injury, Alan Smith who is yet to return from a foot injury and Gonzalez who has an Achilles problem. He is also likely to be without striker Obafemi Martins who missed out at the weekend with a groin injury. However he will be assessed before any decision is made to omit him from the team.
Michael Owen and Mark Viduka are likely to pair upfront, with Shola Ameobi likely to start on the bench dependent on a late fitness test after pulling a Hamstring at the weekend. Damien Duff is also pushing for a start after scoring Newcastle's late winner at the weekend against Tottenham.
Steve Bruce will definitely start Ryan Taylor who has a habit of scoring against Newcastle. He is without injuries after Emmerson Boyce recovered from a Hamstring injury and midfielder Wilson Palacios returns to the fold after suspension. Emile Heskey will start upfront with Antonio Valencia.
I think we are going to have to score atleast twice if we want to win this game, as that man Ryan Taylor will almost definitely score against us(again). If we can get 3 points from this game, our season may well still be a successful one as Europe won't seem impossible. This is the time to get results as the league table is starting to take shape, so lets hope we continue our recent form and make it 7 games unbeaten. Howay the Lads!
Is it just me or has the usually anti Duff known as Toonbart called for Duff's inclusion for the very 1st time? I wouldn't drop Jonas as quickly though, I'll rather drop N'Zogbia as he once again mentioned his desire to leave the club and bring in Duff, that way also maintaining the team's balance.
I think this is gonna be a tight game wigan have played quite well this year and look like a team who may well finish top half like wasim says think we need 2 goals to hope to come away with all 3 points i hope its a win but i feel a draw coming but with Liverpool soon after and if we don't get points there either we could soon find ourselves back down the bottom again in the space of a few days i feel this is a vital games for us and will probably shape our season
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2008:12:24:14:16:22 by senyabtoon.
lol great sense of humour toonbart, you certainly had me thinking twice there! From the sound of JFK's interview, I don't think he will be making any changes to the team that beat Spurs, apart the enforced change due to Ameobi's injury. Our team should thus be:
Jonas seemed a bit flat against Tottenham. I guess that's just him though he's up and down. Some games you watch you can walk away and say "this guy is world class". Only inclusion will be Viduka.
Given
Beye - Coloccini - Bassong - Jose Enrique
Jonas - Butt - Guthrie - N'Zogbia
Owen - Viduka
just getting our asses kicked right now - Wigan first to every ball, pushing our boys all over the park. We just look like we are not even present. Very disappionting after a couple of really good weeks. Second half needs to be a complete mirror of this @#$%&.
A win would have taken us to 8th. We still have a half to change things and win this game, but we need to up our game. Time to see how good a manager JFK really is.
At least we're not as bad as Hull who are 4-0 at Man City.
From BBC site:
That is the most remarkable thing I have ever seen during the interval at a football match. Phil Brown led his Hull players to their away support and after applauding the fans, he sits the players down on the ground and gives them an almighty rollocking. After five minutes, he tells them to go back to the dressing-room. They look utterly humbled. They should be. They were absolutely shocking in that 45 minutes.
incredible amount of bad luck today, Zaki's run looked offside, then the foul should have been given outside the 18, but they end up getting a penalty and the red
Pretty scrappy game. Referee partially responsible. Thought the tackle on Beye should have been a straight red card he had his studs up and all. The penalty against Bassong should have been a definate free kick outside the box not a penlty. The supply up front was very average to say the last. Guthrie probably our best player. Duff was descent at times but was sloppy aswell.
yeah, thought that ref was just a bad as our performance. I ma not that upset that we lost, i mean Wigan are playing well, at home, we are not healthy. Its ok to lose 2-1 to wigan away - its the way we played, and whole game, the injuries - Jose before the game - it just seemed like we were destined to lose from the first whistle.
PS whoever those commentaters were should be fired - very bias to the home team, just bad all round!
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