We are just a few friendly matches away from the start of the new football season in England, and looking towards a clash between Championship side Bristol City and Newcastle, who have far too many issues to sort out in the remaining weeks.
Both teams began their pre-season preparations only around ten days ago, and Newcastle, in particular, still do not have a full squad available, as a large number of their players were at the World Cup, some of them right up until the very last day.
So far, Bristol City have played three matches this summer, recording one win, one draw and one defeat, but none of their matches were against a top-flight side.
Newcastle recorded a convincing 3-0 win over Darlington and a far less convincing 1-1 draw with Gateshead.
It is usually difficult to predict what will happen in a pre-season friendly, but we have some interesting information specifically regarding this fixture.
Bristol City will be playing two matches simultaneously – half the squad will face Newcastle, whilst the other half will play Forest Green at the same time. In other words, even with all their absentees, the Magpies should be able to cope with the Robins.
How the bookies view it: The Magpies to win on the Robins' territory
As is often the case with friendly matches, the bookmakers haven’t added it to their listings yet, but we expect them to do so in the hours leading up to kick-off.
For now, we expect to see a significant advantage for Newcastle, as is generally expected, but also because Bristol City will be fielding a much weaker side than usual.
Recent head-to-head: One of the oldest football rivalries
Bristol City and Newcastle have a rich history between them, dating back to 1906, when both teams were in the First Division. More recently, they last met in 2017, when Newcastle were in the Championship.
The Magpies are unbeaten against the Robins in their last nine head-to-head matches (W4, D5), with Bristol’s last victory dating back to 1990.
Players to watch: Barnes to celebrate his new contract
Newcastle will be without World Cup participants Bruno Guimaraes, Anthony Elanga, Dan Burn, Malick Thiaw, Yoane Wissa, Nick Woltemade, and the new 47 million signing Bazoumana Toure.
Aladji Bamba could make his debut after he arrived from Monaco, while Sean Steur should once again start for the Magpies. Perhaps the most notable news from this week was Harvey Barnes’ new contract extension. With this in mind, he seems like a solid shout to score a goal if bookies release any player markets.
Backed a player to find the net? Check our Goalscorer Betting guide to see how the markets work and where to find value.
Probable line-ups
Bristol City: Tickle, Atkinson, Dickie, Morrison, Tanner, Williams, Knight, Randell, Wallace, Riis, Tolaj
Newcastle: Pope, Hall, Shahar, Schar, Murphy, Ramsey, Neave, Steur, Barnes, Willock, Murphy
Anything else catch the eye?
There’s obviously little we can say with confidence in a match such as this, as both sides will be missing the majority of their top players.
Nevertheless, this should normally lead to more goals, as a result of all the experimenting on both sides. However, considering that Bristol will be even more crippled with half of their available players sent out to face Forest Green, we have to back the Magpies to win this contest.
Newcastle have a lot of issues to sort out following their disappointing season last year, and it seems as though these minutes on the pitch are of greater importance to them.
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