Newcastle United host Ipswich Town on Saturday.
Sky Sports pundit Ian Holloway believes Mick McCarthy is a man capable of derailing Newcastle United’s winning run.
Newcastle have won four straight Championship fixtures, following a mid-September hiccup, and moved to the top of the division this week for the very first time.
In McCarthy’s Ipswich Town, however, the Magpies face the league’s joint-tightest defence, alongside Brighton & Hove Albion, and despite sitting 12th in the standings, the Tractor Boys are capable of halting their opponents’ run according to Holloway.
That said, the former Crystal Palace boss cannot envisage Dwight Gayle not scoring for Newcastle, and expects Rafa Benitez’s side to make in five in a row on Saturday afternoon
“Mick McCarthy will be relishing this challenge of trying to stop the in-form team in the division,” Holloway wrote in his weekly predictions column for Sky Sports. “If anyone can derail Newcastle’s winning run it’s Mick.
“They have the joint-best defence in the Championship with Brighton, conceding just nine goals, but you just can’t bet against Dwight Gayle at the moment. He’s already scored 11 league goals and I’ll be stunned if he doesn’t add to that this weekend.”
Having taken Gayle to Selhurst Park from Peterborough United three years ago, Holloway is not the least bit surprised at the Newcastle striker’s recent run of form.
The 53-year-old added: “He was the most expensive player I ever purchased as a manager when I took him to Crystal Palace and I’m not surprised to see him banging them in. He’s pure quality.
“2-1.”
A result for Ipswich could be a potential double-edged sword, with bitter rivals Norwich City a point behind Newcastle in second place and waiting to take advantage of any slip-ups.
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