Anybody paying attention to the Premier League this season would notice that there’s been a pretty significant shift in how teams are playing.
While it’s been coming for a while, there’s no denying it now.
Most teams are putting an emphasis on playing attacking, exciting style of soccer rather than trying to keep things neat and tidy.
But one team that isn’t necessarily adopting the all-action style is Newcastle United.
The Magpies certainly have enough talent to score with the best teams in the world, but Eddie Howe’s side is much more comfortable building things up slowly and making sure they’re not caught on the counterattack.
Newcastle vs. Paris Saint-Germain
That isn’t a slight on Newcastle, there’s no right or wrong way to win a soccer match, but it does factor into how we want to handicap this team, especially when they play elite competition like Paris Saint-Germain.
There will be plenty of hype heading into this match.
Not only are Newcastle and PSG among the best teams in the world right now, but it’s also the first Champions League match being played at St. James’ Park in two decades.
It will be a raucous atmosphere. But I’m skeptical the actual match will be as exciting.
Like Newcastle, PSG is a star-studded side with game-breaking talent up and down the lineup.
Kylian Mbappe is the headliner, but the French talisman has a terrific supporting cast, making PSG one of the sport’s best sides.
And while they’re an adaptable unit that can handle an uptick in tempo, Luis Enrique wants his team to win the ball and keep it, rather than get embroiled in a back-and-forth contest.
There’s a lot of similarities between how these sides want to play and while that may lead you to believe that both sides will be a little more aggressive in order to get on the ball, I think this match will be a rock fight.
Not only are both clubs going to be careful not to get caught on the counter when they don’t have the ball, but the situational spot also lends itself towards a low-event match.
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Newcastle was able to squeeze a point out of a trip to AC Milan in Matchweek 1 and knows that a point against PSG — the favorites in Group F — is a fine result, so I would be surprised if they come out of their shell all that much.
PSG, meanwhile, took care of business against Borussia Dortmund in their opening match and would be quite pleased with a point in this spot.
I expect them to be especially conservative in the beginning of the match in order to quiet the Toon Army.
With two risk-averse sides set to meet, I think there’s every chance that this contest ends up in a deadlock.
That will keep the draw in play throughout the fixture.
The bet: Draw (+260, BetMGM)