Tuesday, February 21, 2006
Newcastle - take two!
Charlton take on the Geordie boys at St James Park in a re-arranged Premiership game on Wednesday night.
This game was postponed after Xmas due to poor weather conditions around the ground, making it tough for fans to get in. The original match preview is here.
For Newcastle, Scott Parker is almost certain to play; it will be the first time he has faced Charlton since his acrimonious departure a couple of years ago.
Since the New Year, Shearer has now scored his 200th (and 201st) goal for Newcastle, making him the all time top scorer at the club; he may be injured tomorrow anyway, as he missed Saturday's FA Cup game.
Also missing, since the first game was postponed, is Graeme Sounness, now replaced as Newcastle manager on a temporary basis by Glenn Roeder. Since the former West Ham man took over (with Shearer helping as a coach...), the Geordies have picked up quite a bit.
For Charlton, the team may not change much from Saturdays cup winners, except that Marcus Bent will almost certainly replace Jay Bothroyd.
My one to watch is going to be Luke Young. He will be up against a rampant Charles N'Zogbia, and will have his hands full controlling him based on the last few games I've seen.
My score prediction is a bit icy - can Charlton trouble the dodgy Geordie defence? Probably...but can they contain the surging Newcastle front men? Doubtful. I'm going to plump for a 2-1 defeat I'm afraid, but I hope I'm wrong.
I just hope that the snow that has fallen in South London today isn't a foretaste of what might come in the North-East tomorrow...then we would have a fixture pile up!
This game was postponed after Xmas due to poor weather conditions around the ground, making it tough for fans to get in. The original match preview is here.
For Newcastle, Scott Parker is almost certain to play; it will be the first time he has faced Charlton since his acrimonious departure a couple of years ago.
Since the New Year, Shearer has now scored his 200th (and 201st) goal for Newcastle, making him the all time top scorer at the club; he may be injured tomorrow anyway, as he missed Saturday's FA Cup game.
Also missing, since the first game was postponed, is Graeme Sounness, now replaced as Newcastle manager on a temporary basis by Glenn Roeder. Since the former West Ham man took over (with Shearer helping as a coach...), the Geordies have picked up quite a bit.
For Charlton, the team may not change much from Saturdays cup winners, except that Marcus Bent will almost certainly replace Jay Bothroyd.
My one to watch is going to be Luke Young. He will be up against a rampant Charles N'Zogbia, and will have his hands full controlling him based on the last few games I've seen.
My score prediction is a bit icy - can Charlton trouble the dodgy Geordie defence? Probably...but can they contain the surging Newcastle front men? Doubtful. I'm going to plump for a 2-1 defeat I'm afraid, but I hope I'm wrong.
I just hope that the snow that has fallen in South London today isn't a foretaste of what might come in the North-East tomorrow...then we would have a fixture pile up!
