NEWCASTLE United fan, Peter Sands, gives us the lowdown on the Magpies.....
What do you make of Newcastle's season so far? Mixed. There are two Newcastle Uniteds. The one that can win at Old Trafford or wipe the floor with Chelsea and the one that capitulates to Hull, Swansea and, horrors, Sunderland. You never know which one will turn up – which makes it exciting and frustrating. Still, sixth in Christmas week and ahead of Man Utd. I'll take that.This week you've been linked with former Palace star, Wilfried Zaha. How much of an impact do you think he would have on your team? I haven't seen much of him but saw the play-off semi last season at the Amex where he was superb and scored twice. It strikes me that he is similar to Ben Arfa, playing wide and taking on players. What we really need is a goalscorer.Which player should Palace look out for this weekend? Top scorer Loic Remy, with eight goals, can pluck chances out of nothing. But Yoan Gouffran is the form player, a midfielder with a striker's instincts. Palace's right-sided defence will need to be on its toes.Do you have any memories of away games at Selhurst Park? My first ever visit was in 1997 when we won 2-1 and Temuri Ketsbaia and Jon Dahl Tomasson scored, with Neil Shipperley pulling one back. Palace were relegated that season. I will be there on Saturday and would settle for the same result. I would like Palace to stay up though, we don't want them taking the relegation spot reserved for Sunderland.If you could sign one player from Palace who would it be? Dwight Gayle looked impressive early on. He might be struggling for his place now but he has time to turn into a quality player.What is your score prediction? We haven't scored more than two in any game all season and Palace have 15 league goals. It has 1-1 written all over it.
What do you make of Newcastle's season so far? Mixed. There are two Newcastle Uniteds. The one that can win at Old Trafford or wipe the floor with Chelsea and the one that capitulates to Hull, Swansea and, horrors, Sunderland. You never know which one will turn up – which makes it exciting and frustrating. Still, sixth in Christmas week and ahead of Man Utd. I'll take that.This week you've been linked with former Palace star, Wilfried Zaha. How much of an impact do you think he would have on your team? I haven't seen much of him but saw the play-off semi last season at the Amex where he was superb and scored twice. It strikes me that he is similar to Ben Arfa, playing wide and taking on players. What we really need is a goalscorer.Which player should Palace look out for this weekend? Top scorer Loic Remy, with eight goals, can pluck chances out of nothing. But Yoan Gouffran is the form player, a midfielder with a striker's instincts. Palace's right-sided defence will need to be on its toes.Do you have any memories of away games at Selhurst Park? My first ever visit was in 1997 when we won 2-1 and Temuri Ketsbaia and Jon Dahl Tomasson scored, with Neil Shipperley pulling one back. Palace were relegated that season. I will be there on Saturday and would settle for the same result. I would like Palace to stay up though, we don't want them taking the relegation spot reserved for Sunderland.If you could sign one player from Palace who would it be? Dwight Gayle looked impressive early on. He might be struggling for his place now but he has time to turn into a quality player.What is your score prediction? We haven't scored more than two in any game all season and Palace have 15 league goals. It has 1-1 written all over it.
