Relegation could finally be mathematically confirmed on Saturday afternoon as Town face a Newcastle side still on a high from their Carabao Cup success but also having to compete to maintain a Champions League space.

The Magpies come into this one off the back of a 4-1 defeat to seventh-placed Aston Villa which ended a six-game winning run in all competitions.

It’s likely that manager Eddie Howe will be back in the dugout, having missed a chunk of games whilst being treated for pneumonia. He’s been on press duties earlier today talking about Town’s threats and away record and will be looking for a reaction from his side following a game where Newcastle were competitive with Villa but just lacked momentum in the second half as Villa turned the screw and scored three goals in quick succession.

Last time out (Ipswich Town 0-4 Newcastle United)

As far as games of football go, I think I'd have to say that this game was the most miserable one of the season for me.

Things did not get off to a good start with a long ball down the right picking out Jacob Murphy. His attempted cross to Joe Willock was blocked but Swedish marksman Alexander Isak was there to calmly volley the clearance into the ground and past the dive of Aro Muric.

Town responded with Jens Cajuste having a snap shot from the edge of the area before Conor Chaplin slipped Sammie Szmodics through but the former Blackburn player was unable to poke past Martin Dubravka in goal.

Newcastle had a huge chance not long after as Town had way too many players up the pitch and were almost caught out. Isak dropped deep and flicked a lovely ball around the corner to send Bruno Guimaraes on his way. He laid it off to Jacob Murphy but skipper Sam Morsy charged back to block the cross superbly.

It was on 31 minutes that the heavens opened both in terms of Newcastle chances and the rain. When Murphy slammed home from outside the box following a great dribble from Anthony Gordon, many Town fans, some of whom were unprepared for the weather, went inside to attempt to dry off and warm up.

Those that did would have missed another defensive mix-up as Muric tried to play out to Jens Cajuste when Guimaraes was way too close to him. Cajuste was unable to turn, lost the ball and it kindly fell to Isak who was again in the right place at the right time to sit the Town goalkeeper down and slot the ball calmly into the back of the net.

The game was wrapped up shortly after the resumption of the second half. Cameron Burgess did well to block an Isak dribble into the box but Newcastle were swarming again with their high press meaning the ball only fell to Murphy, who showed even more graceful footwork to somehow dart past four Town players and play a backheel chip into the path of Isak who poked home for his hat-trick.

There wasn’t much of note after that as the game fizzled into nothing more than a training match.

Players to watch

Jacob Murphy

Whilst Isak will draw all the headlines it’s Murphy who is the unsung hero in the Newcastle frontline. He’s having his best ever season with nine goals and 13 assists. Seven of those goal involvements have come in his last six games whilst another two of them were from the victory at Portman Road.

He knows that right-wing role inside out and similar to Wes Burns will play high and wide when Newcastle are out of possession so he can look to use his pace to run in behind.

This is something that whoever plays at left-back for Town will have to be very careful about and something that teams including Newcastle themselves have exploited early on in games as Leif Davis pushes very high from kick-off.

Sandro Tonali

Sandro Tonali is one of the best midfielders in the Premier League and is very close to being the complete midfielder. Five goals and three assists are decent numbers but it’s his reading of the game that makes him stand out.

He doesn’t make too many tackles because he doesn’t have to. He’s on the ball and making sure he finds a black and white shirt before the opposition even have a chance to run at him. He’s completed 83.2 per cent of his passes and made 156 ball recoveries. All of this allows the next man I'm going to focus on to flourish even more

Bruno Guimares

Guimares is the perfect complement to Tonali and statistically his season has been even more impressive. He has 16 passes that led to goal-creating actions (the killer pass that either creates the goal or the assist for the goal) which is a league high.

On top of that, he has four goals and eight assists, has played 150 passes into the final third, 60 into the penalty area but also does his fair share of defensive work too. Like Tonali, he has also made 156 ball recoveries in addition to 27 interceptions.

If you manage to mark one of the two out of the game, the other one will get you and that’s not even including Joelinton who brings the energy, running and pressing that helps the two technicians' flourish.

The Teams

If there are any slight positives that Town can take going into this one, then one of them is the Newcastle United squad depth. The Magpies have played the same starting XI in their last seven games, which does build consistency but could also result in some fatigue. Should Eddie Howe look to freshen things up then the most likely contenders to come into the team would be Anthony Gordon and Lewis Miley.

For Town, numbers are as light on the ground as they have been all season. With Leif Davis suspended and Conor Townsend injured, the biggest question mark is at left-back. Jacob Greaves shifted across there for the rest of the Arsenal game and is likely to start in that position for this one with Cameron Burgess coming into the left centre-back berth.

Greaves has played at left-back 31 times in his career with eight of those coming in the Championship for Hull last season, so it’s not a position he’s unfamiliar with.

The rest of the team will probably be unchanged given the fitness issues but hopefully both Liam Delap and Omari Hutchinson will be able to get some minutes and make an impact from the bench.

Prediction

Town have dropped a league-high 27 points from winning positions. Newcastle have dropped a league low seven. Ominous statistics there.

The Magpies have only lost four times at home all season (Brighton in October, West Ham in November and Fulham and Bournemouth both in January) and I just can’t see Town making that five.

Newcastle's midfield is again likely to dominate and if Town can keep the score respectable that will be a victory for me. I’m going for a 3-1 defeat.

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