Newcastle begin their pre-season tour of Japan on Wednesday when Eddie Howe's side face Urawa Red Diamonds in Saitama..
The Magpies have so far enjoyed a quiet summer with Howe overseeing just one pre-season game. Newcastle beat Hull City 2-0 on Saturday before moving on to the Far East.
The Tynesiders were largely unaffected by the summer's international action, with supporters set to enjoy many of their senior players in Japan.
Their journey begins against an Urawa Reds side who are in the midst of a disappointing 2024 J-League campaign. The 2022 AFC Champions League winners and three-time Asian champions faced Manchester City in the semi-finals of the 2023 Club World Cup, losing 3-0 to Pep Guardiola's side, but are winless in their last three before hosting Newcastle on Wednesday.
Here it is 90 min a preview of Newcastle's upcoming pre-season qualifiers.
Urawa Red Diamonds vs Newcastle H2H Record
This is the first meeting between the two clubs.
Current form (all competitions)
|
The red diamonds of Urawa |
Newcastle |
|---|---|
|
Urawa Red Diamonds 3-4 Consadole Sapporo – 20/07/24 |
Hull City 0-2 Newcastle – 27/07/24 |
|
Kyoto Sanga 0-2 Urawa Red Diamonds – 14/07/24 |
Tottenham 1-1 (4-5p) Newcastle – 22/05/24 |
|
Urawa Red Diamonds 2-3 Shonan Bellmare – 06/07/24 |
Brentford 2-4 Newcastle – 19/05/24 |
|
Urawa Red Diamonds 3-0 Jubilo Iwata – 30/06/24 |
Man Utd 3-2 Newcastle – 15/05/24 |
|
Nagoya 0-1 Urawa Red Diamonds – 26/06/24 |
Newcastle 1-1 Brighton – 11/05/24 |
|
The country |
TV channel/live streaming |
|---|---|
|
United Kingdom |
NUFC TV (subscription required) |
|
United States |
Paramount+, CBS Sports Golazo, NUFC TV (subscription required) |
|
Canada |
NUFC TV (subscription required) |
Urawa Reds are well into their domestic season, with their J-League campaign continuing on 7 August.
We are unlikely to see many changes to their strong XI, as Norwegian manager Per-Mathias Hogmo will name a team similar to the one beaten by Consadole Sapporo on 20 July.
Urawa Red Diamonds predicted to face Newcastle (4-2-3-1): Nishikawa; Ishihara, Inoue, Hoibraten, Sekine; Ito, Yasui; Okubo, Takeda, Watanabe; Matsuo.
Howe recently confirmed his 29-man squad for the trip to Newcastle in the Far East, with a few notable names missing.
Callum Wilson remains out through injury, while Anthony Gordon and Kieran Trippier have been given extra rest following their Euro 2024 triumph. Exciting youngster Lewis Miley also misses out with the rest of the midfielder alongside Jamaal Lascelles and Sven Botman. .
Alexander Isak and Bruno Guimaraes are among the Magpie stars who could start in Saitama.
Newcastle predicted to face Urawa Red Diamonds (4-3-3): the Pope; Ashby, Schar, Burn, Hall; Guimaraes, Longstaff, Joelinton; Almiron, Isaac, Barnes.
While the Urawa Reds have endured a difficult season, they are in mid-season form and will provide a tough test for a Newcastle side who have played just once in pre-season so far.
Howe's side were particularly impressive against Hull, with the manager showing tactical flexibility by using several players in other roles. We should see more tests from the Newcastle boss throughout their tour of Japan, with several of the school's stars set to earn more minutes.
The intensity and youth of the Urawa Reds could give the Magpies few problems, and it wouldn't be surprising if the Japanese side steal a result on home soil this time around.
Prediction: Urawa Red Diamonds 2-2 Newcastle
READ THE LATEST NEWS, TRANSFER DETAILS AND RENTAL LAW
Source link
