There’s a lovely little buzz building around St James’ Park this weekend and honestly, who can blame the Geordie faithful for getting excited? With the start to the season that has had more than a few Tyneside heads in the sanders, Newcastle face Bournemouth at home on Saturday lunchtime, which should be the perfect occasion to get to grips with the new look of the Magpies under Matthias Jaissle
A New Manager Bounce Worth Watching
It’s easy to forget just how much change Newcastle have been through this summer. Big departures, a new head coach, a squad still learning each other’s runs, and yet somehow they’ve managed to draw with Liverpool and beat Tottenham without so much as a stumble. Whether that’s genuine progress or simply that lovely new-manager glow every side gets for a few weeks remains to be seen, but there’s something refreshing about watching a team play with this much freedom so early in a rebuild. Wissa has been a revelation up top, already matching last season’s entire goal contribution in just two matches, and if he keeps that sharpness up, Bournemouth’s defence are going to have their hands rather full on Saturday. Talking about Bournemouth, they get here at St James’ Park in a slightly more difficult position. After two disappointing starts against Manchester City and Everton, there’s no reason to be overly excited on the south coast and Marco Rose will know he is getting a better result on the night here would go a long way to allay any early concerns. With rumours of bigger clubs coming in, then much will depend on Alex Scott playing in midfield. Keeping their best player fully switched on and fully committed is half the battle for Rose right now.
Team News and Little Worries
Newcastle won’t have things entirely their own way selection-wise, mind. Joelinton, Dan Burn and William Osula are all out, and there’s a nervous wait to see whether Valentino Livramento is fit enough to feature. It’s the sort of team news that could genuinely shape how open this game becomes, particularly down Newcastle’s left side, where Livramento’s energy is usually so important.
Yet there was a lacklustre sense of confidence from St James’ Park in recent years that’s beginning to emerge. Anthony Elanga’s pace terrorised Tottenham’s full-backs last time out, and if he gets space to run at Bournemouth’s back line, it could be a long afternoon for the visitors. But that’s not necessarily the pattern down the road, as the last four times the two have met, it has been deadlocked, and no one in gold and black should get complacent.
Kick-off is 12.30 pm on Saturday, and if the early season form is anything to go by, this one’s shaping up to be well worth clearing your afternoon for.
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