Newcastle United are looking to continue their surge towards the European places in the Premier League as they face Luton Town at St. James’ Park this weekend.
Newcastle United currently sit 7th in the Premier League with ten wins, two draws and ten losses from twenty-two games this season.
The Magpies have had a tougher campaign than last season which they will largely attribute to the chronic and widespread injury issues they’ve suffered, with Eddie Howe frequently having been forced to field a bench packed with youngsters with no senior experience.
Still, they’ve remained extremely competitive and they come into this game in good form having won three of their last five games in all competitions, the most recent of which was a 3-1 win away at Aston Villa.
The win over Villa was one of Newcastle’s best of the campaign given Villa were yet to lose at Villa Park this season heading into that game, with a brace from Fabian Schär and an Àlex Moreno own goal enough to seal the three points for the visitors.
The win was their second on the bounce and was sorely needed after the Magpies had lost their prior four games in the league and they’ll now hope they can kick on and start to contest for a top-five finish.
They’ve lost their last two league games at St. James’ Park - 1-3 to Nottingham Forest and 2-3 to Manchester City - but they won all of their prior seven games at home in the league preceding those defeats so they should be considered clear favourites for this one.
Luton Town currently sit 17th in the Premier League with five wins, four draws and twelve losses from twenty-one games this season.
The Hatters are having a fine season and while still firmly amidst the relegation battle, it has to be said they’re exceeding preseason expectations given everyone expected them to be rock bottom of the league table with a points tally comparable to Derby’s in 2007/08.
They’re coming into this game in excellent form having gone unbeaten in their last five games in all competitions, winning their last three on the bounce.
Their latest game was probably their finest of the campaign as they hammered Brighton & Hove Albion 4-0 at Kenilworth Road thanks to a hat-trick from Elijah Adebayo and a goal from Chiedozie Ogbene.
The win was a monstrous one for Luton and has taken them out of the relegation zone, and based on form it appears as though they’re going from strength to strength so survival is a very realistic goal.
Their form away from home has also been very good in recent weeks as they come into this game having won three and drawn one of their last four games on the road, so a shock result is not out of the question here.
Luton ran out 1-0 winners over Newcastle when the two sides locked horns in the league back in December and while a repeat result would be a jubilant one for the Hatters, they’d no doubt be more than satisfied with a draw in this one.
For our Newcastle vs. Luton prediction, we’re going for a 1-0 win for the home side.
Don’t forget to check out the rest of our previews, tips and offers for this weekend’s action.