Newcastle v Arsenal Tip

It didn’t go down too well when Alan Pardew joked that he didn’t mind if Newcastle lost 4-0 to Arsenal after his side ensured Premier League survival with a win at QPR last weekend. It was probably ill-advised, but the Magpies boss probably assumed that nobody would ever truly doubt his appetite to win or his professionalism.

Obviously this is a massive game for Arsenal in the battle for Champions League football, but in reality Pardew does still need a performance from his players as well. Let it not be forgotten that the last two outings at St James’s Park saw a 0-3 defeat to local rivals Sunderland followed by a 0-6 hammering at the hands of Liverpool.

The relief of staying up won’t last long if the fans have three dismal home games in a row to look back on heading into the summer break.

So how will this affect the outcome of the match? My bet would be that there will be goals and perhaps plenty of them. It was 7-3 in the reverse fixture at the Emirates and Sunday could provide another thriller.

Newcastle will be more relaxed, but that doesn’t mean they will suddenly remember the art of defending. The Geordies have conceded 67 league goals this season and only Wigan and Reading have fared worse than that.

But they might just cause some trouble of their own against the Gunners. Ben Arfa is back, Cabaye can cause mischief and Cisse is always liable to find the net. BetVictor offer best odds of 17/5 on there being over 4.5 goals in the match and it could well happen.