Mark Lawrenson has predicted Newcastle United to lose when they face Crystal Palace at the weekend in the Premier League.
The Magpies travel to Selhurst Park on Sunday afternoon for a league encounter and will be desperate to move away from the drop zone.
Rafael Benitez’s side are currently 14th in the league standings and just a point ahead of the bottom three in a congested bottom half of the table.
The North-East club drew 1-1 in midweek against Burnley and their last win in the league was on 1 January against Stoke City.
Meanwhile, Palace are 13th in the league standings and drew 1-1 with West Ham in the week.
Roy Hodgson’s side are two points above Newcastle in the table and it is a huge game for both teams.
BBC pundit Lawrenson has tipped Palace to win the fixture 2-0 and feels they have a much superior team to the Magpies.
“Newcastle managed to make some signings at the end of the transfer window, including Leicester forward Islam Slimani and Chelsea winger Kenedy – who are both better than what they had,” Lawrenson wrote in his column for BBC Sport.
“But you only have to look at the difference between Crystal Palace’s squad and what the Magpies have got to see the difference between the sides.
“Palace are only one place above them, but I think they will run out pretty comfortable winners.”
OPINION
Newcastle are in serious danger of suffering relegation this campaign and may not have added enough quality in the January window. They did manage to add a new goalkeeper, while Islam Slimani has also arrived on loan from Leicester City to bolster their squad. Another loan capture came in the shape of left-sided flyer Kenedy from Chelsea and he showed glimpses of his potential in the Burnley draw. The 21-year-old is exactly the type of player Newcastle fans can get behind as he is direct, has great trickery, and should provide a good goal threat. Benitez should be pleased if his side come away from Palace with a point, but sooner or later need to start beating their direct rivals, especially at home.