David Prutton believes Newcastle will slip up against Nottingham Forest in Wednesday night’s Carabao Cup clash at St. James’ Park.
Rafa Benitez prepares his side to face Mark Warburton’s two-time European Cup winners, with both sides looking to progress into the third round of the competition.
The Toon come into the match in dismal form after losing both of their opening Premier League matches against Tottenham and Huddersfield, and are yet to find the back of the net this season.
Former Leeds and Southampton midfielder Prutton told Sky Sports that he believes Forest will earn a 1-0 win on Tyneside, claiming Daryl Murphy could come back to haunt his old side when the two sides meet.
“Graeme Souness was very critical about Newcastle’s defending at the weekend, and rightly so,” Prutton said. “They also have problems at the other end of the field, and Dwight Gayle could use a game here to get off the mark.
“Nottingham Forest have had a decent start and they could give Newcastle a tough game. Daryl Murphy will be desperate to start and score at his old side where he didn’t get much of a look-in last season.”
Benitez is expected to make a number of changes to the Toon side to face Forest on Wednesday night, with new signings Joselu and Jacob Murphy both looking to make their first start in a Newcastle shirt.
The last time the two sides met was back in December as the Magpies strolled to a 3-1 victory on home soil, with Matt Ritchie scoring and Dwight Gayle netting a brace against a 10-man Forest.
However, Forest have won three of their opening four Championship encounters against Middlesbrough, Brentford and Millwall and will be looking to take their league form into the clash.
OPINION
The atmosphere on Tyneside is currently a bleak one, with manager Benitez increasingly frustrated about his side’s lack of activity in the transfer market. Two disappointing losses to Spurs and Huddersfield have worsened that worryingly low enthusiasm among the Newcastle players, as the Toon have showed next to no creativity or attacking prowess. Benitez could look to field a strong side in order to secure their first victory of the season and remove some tension among the Toon fans and squad, but Forest will fancy their chances of causing an upset. Warburton’s side will terrorise the Newcastle defence, as new signings Barrie McKay, Kieran Dowell and Murphy have all found the back of the net and Newcastle must remain wary of their Championship opposition’s threat. Another defeat here wouldn’t be good.