Nearly there? Newcastle United v Maritimo match preview

November 22nd, 2012 | 14 Comments |

This will be our penultimate game in Europa League group stage, with Newcastle United facing their second (away) leg against Bordeaux for the final game after this one.

As things stand, the Magpies lead the group with eight points and a win should see us safely through to the next stage. However the Magpies only lead second placed Bordeaux by only one point. Hence the big question should be whether we finish first or second on our group, which will probably have a bearing on the strength of the opposition we would face in the next round. Meanwhile, this evening’s opponent’s chances are now hanging by a thread as they are currently bottom with only two points. This means that so far, things are going as they might have been predicted from the start, with Newcastle United being narrow favourites over Bordeaux, with Brugge being seen as the slightly stronger of the two underdogs. Speaking as a Newcastle United fan, I sincerely hope the Belgians go out after their disgraceful treatment of travelling Toon fans in the second away leg at their place. But I digress… (more…)