Dr. Data Bet: Newcastle top 4 finish +100
The return of Newcastle as a juggernaut in the EPL should terrify European football fans. One of the most loyal, scary fan bases are hungry to return to relevancy and frankly they deserve it. St James Park is a top 5 home field advantage with tremendous atmosphere and is significantly more loud than any other venue. Recently, Newcastle has been trash. They've been up and down in English football and haven't even sniffed top 4. Now under the ownership of the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund, it seems anything is possible. To break it down for us Americans, Steve Cohen (Owner of the Mets) is the richest owner on this side of the pond worth around $13 Billion. The estimated value of the Saudi Fund is $620 Billion. That legit makes Steve Cohen look like a bum in Penn Station begging for Roses Pizza at 3am (I never thought I'd write this statement, Jesus Christ).
You can have all the money, but you you need to have a manger that gets the right players into a system and keep the players organized. They have a man like that and his name is Eddie Howe. I believe Newcastle and Howe firmly established themselves as a top 4 threat this past week with the 0-0 draw at league leader Arsenal. It was highly emotional game with significant top 4 consequences. Even though a point was awarded to both teams, it showed that Newcastle can withstand such pressure and persevere to a result which is important if you want to achieve champions league football position. The emergence of Migual Almiron as a scoring threat of the flank has been massive. He is elite at getting past defenders and creating an attacking threat for his team. This is why Newcastle is 5th in the league in scoring goals with 32 in 18 games. However, the defense for Newcastle all season long has been stellar. The likes of Trippier, Schar, Burn and Botman have been outstanding. They've conceded a league low 11 goals in 18 games. Having defense that is organized and doesn't concede any goals keeps any team in the mix to win a game on any given day.
The play here is Newcastle to finish in the top 4. Currently, they sit in 3rd place. The club has the second lowest strength of schedule remaining in league play. The club has 10 games remaining to play at St James park which has turned into an absolute Fortress like Winterfell. At +100, it definitely worth the risk. Come on you Magpies!!!
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