"The thing with Newcastle is" - Paul Merson previews & predicts Nottingham Forest clash
Paul Merson predicts a tightly fought affair between Newcastle United and Nottingham Forest in today's 2pm kick-off on Tyneside.
The Sky Sports pundit has also given his thoughts on how Eddie Howe’s side may fare in the weeks running up to the Carabao Cup final, with the Magpies still to face Liverpool and West Ham away as well as Brighton in the Fifth Round of the FA Cup before their trip to Wembley.
Both sides come into Sunday having lost their previous game. Newcastle were demolished 4-0 at the Etihad while Forest lost 2-1 at Fulham last weekend.
Merson predicts Newcastle vs Forest
Merson, who predicted we would beat Manchester City 2-1 last time out, has opted for a draw this afternoon and wonders if Newcastle's may have one eye elsewhere in the coming weeks.
He believes that the player's heads may be turning towards ending Newcastle’s trophy drought and writing their name into the club’s history books next month. It may be true in part, but a downturn in league form will have a massive effect on our momentum coming into the final.
Speaking to Sportskeeda, Merson said: “I was disappointed with Newcastle last week. They opened the game up against Manchester City thinking they are flying at the moment. Newcastle wanted City to have a go at them and they got demolished in the process!
“The thing with Newcastle is that at some point their players will start to think of the cup final. These players could go down like legends and that is too big a temptation to not keep an eye on. I turn 56 next month and I’ve never seen Newcastle lift a trophy! So the players will have one eye on making history and I don’t blame them for doing that because these games don’t come around very often.
“Nottingham Forest deserved to lose against Fulham. But they have always bounced back after defeats in the league this season. After suffering losses against Arsenal and Manchester City, they responded with wins. Forest must ensure they win again because I expect most teams close to them in the table to get three points this weekend.”
Merson's prediction: Newcastle 1-1 Nottingham Forest
A six-pointer at St James' Park
There is plenty at stake when Forest makes the journey to the north east with massive ramifications for our European hopes, with Nuno Espirito Santo’s side currently six points clear.
If the Forest manager can navigate his side to a second successive win at St. James’ Park, following from Boxing Day 2023, that gap would open up to nine with a little less than a quarter of the season to play.
A win for the Mags would do the double over the Midlands side this season and close the gap to three, also seeing us go back above Chelsea and capitalise on defeats yesterday for Bournemouth and Fulham.
