Why Cardiff will walk out of protest-ridden Newcastle with three points
Published:The Newcastle United Supporters’ Trust have passed a motion for fans to walk out of St James’ Park in the 69th minute, but there is a danger that the hour-and-a-bit that they watch will be so distressing that they will wish they outright no-showed.
The reason the 69th minute has been selected for their boycott is that the Tyneside giants haven’t handled any major silverware since their Fairs Cup triumph in 1969.
Right now though it is not so much a failure to compete for trophies as a failure to compete full stop that has provoked such anger. The Magpies have lost six matches in a row and 14 in 19 in total since a Boxing Day victory over Stoke.
This bleakest of streaks is a massive 11/4 to continue when Cardiff come to town, with the draw 13/5 and Alan Pardew’s drastically out-of-form side thoroughly unconvincing 10/11 favourites.
Having looked buried after a 0-3 defeat to Crystal Palace in the Welsh capital, Cardiff rallied with an unlikely win at Southampton and then a draw against Stoke.
They were pushed back to the bottom of the table following a 0-4 thrashing at Sunderland, but don’t let that result cloud your judgement – Stoke are the only team to have been beaten in both Premier League treks up to the north east this term.
Newcastle have lost a despicable eight of their last 10 home encounters and Cardiff were one of the many to profit from their warm hospitality in the FA Cup in January, halting an eight-game away winless run in which they netted just twice with a 2-1 success.
As top-half finish odds of 1/16 suggest, the hosts have little to fight for besides Pardew’s job security, and they haven’t been shy to give struggling clubs a leg-up this season.
Sunderland did the double over them. They handed West Brom and Fulham three points in their hours of need and gave Swansea six that have proven priceless to their survival bid. Now it’s Cardiff’s turn to take advantage.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.
Fancy a flutter? Sign up today to claim up to £50 in free bets.
