Matt Holland: Newcastle lack the firepower to compete with Tottenham

It’s a bit too early to be labelling Newcastle a crisis club – don’t forget they didn’t chalk up their first win last season until November and they finished off okay.

But with two defeats out of two, one goal scored and a trip to Tottenham next up, these are definitely concerning times on Tyneside.

The main issue facing Newcastle is where the goals are going to come from and with that in mind I foresee a win to nil for Spurs.

Steve Bruce was on the back foot straight away with Salomon Rondon and Ayoze Perez departing and the pressure is on Joelinton to hit the ground running.

I like what Miguel Almiron brings to Newcastle – pace, workrate and enthusiasm. But he seems to lack the talent to arrive in the box and play off the front man.

He doesn’t look a natural goalscorer and there’s a real danger Joelinton will be increasingly isolated. Perez was a wide man but he cut inside a lot and knew when and how to get into the box.

I’m a big fan of Jonjo Shelvey but he’ll have his work cut out against a Tottenham midfield that looks seriously formidable with Tanguy Ndombele added to the mix.

Villa looked very good at Spurs for 40 minutes on the opening weekend but they were eventually ground down and you can see Tottenham doing that to a lot of teams.

I like what Unai Emery is trying to accomplish at Arsenal and two wins out of two represents the perfect start, but their tactics could play nicely into Liverpool’s hands at Anfield.

Emery is striving to get the Gunners playing from the back and that comes with a risk. I was at Arsenal against Burnley and there were several occasions when Sean Dyche’s men pressed their opponents into errors.

And if Burnley can make life uncomfortable for David Luiz and his teammates then Sadio Mane, Mo Salah and Roberto Firmino could have a field day.

Arsenal going forward have plenty to fire back with – I think there will be goals at both ends – with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette as good a strike pairing as there is in the Premier League.

Dani Ceballos had a massive impact, notionally as a number ten, though he offered more as the game went on as an eight. Pepe looks super bright and he’s meant to be a winger though you see him cutting in a lot. He may not start, though Liverpool might be hoping that he does because on the break, with Pepe having left his wing, there’s going to be acres for someone like Andrew Robertson to exploit.

If I was tipping a scoreline I’d say 3-1, taking the Reds -1 on the handicap.

I definitely think there will be goals at both ends at Bournemouth where Manchester City are the visitors. I can’t see past City but I can see Bournemouth finding the net.

Eddie Howe lives and dies by his principles of playing football and while that does get them into trouble sometimes, they remain a threat. There will be goals at both ends in Bournemouth matches.

The Josh King-Callum Wilson axis is a good one and Harry Wilson adds even more to their attack, but City will be throwing more back and that’s why I like the away win with both teams scoring.

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