Mark Lawrenson has predicted Newcastle United to draw 1-1 with Cardiff City when the sides meet at St James Park on Saturday.
The BBC Sports pundit shared that he expected the Bluebirds to learn from their performance in their Premier League opener against Bournemouth last weekend and tipped them to be more difficult for the Magpies to beat because of it.
Lawrenson shared that while he didn’t envision the Magpies struggling this season, he didn’t expect there to be a lot of goals in the game and that the points would be shared on Saturday.
“I thought Cardiff would put up a little bit more resistance than they did in their defeat to Bournemouth on the opening weekend,” wrote Lawrenson in his predictions for the BBC.
“But what happened there has probably given them an indication of the gulf between the Championship and the Premier League.
“I would expect Neil Warnock’s side to make things a lot more difficult for Newcastle in their first home game back in the top flight, though.
“And the Bluebirds fans will play a part too – they have to, because Cardiff’s home form is going to play a huge role in their survival fight.
“I cannot see many goals in this, but the dynamic between the two managers is going to be great to watch, because Warnock and Magpies boss Rafael Benitez have a bit of history.
“Newcastle also lost their first game of the season, at home to Tottenham, but they put in a decent performance and I don’t see them struggling this season. Cardiff are a different story, though.”
OPINION
It should be no surprise that the BBC pundit is sitting on the fence with this game as it is a difficult one to predict to some degree. After losing to the Cherries, Cardiff will be determined to at least pick up a point against the Magpies even if it means shutting up shop for a lot of the game. However given how the Magpies’ performance against Spurs deserved to see them earn a least a point, they should have enough quality to break Warnock’s side down. Rafa Benitez’s side went toe to toe with a side widely expected to finish in the Premier League top-four when they faced Spurs and showed they were more than able to hold their own. While the Magpies didn’t get enough summer business done to look like having a squad that will survive an injury crisis, their starting eleven has enough quality in it to see off the likes of the Bluebirds. Hopefully summer recruit Salomon Rondon starts on Saturday for the Magpies for their sake as he could be the player who makes the difference.