Heerenveen v Newcastle Betting Preview

Tonight sees the return of live UEFA Cup football to channel 5 with Newcastle's first leg against Heerenveen. Although the Magpies are favourites to win this evening, this doesn't look a likely scenario. The semi-finalists from last season must do without several players that were available earlier in the competition. Kieron Dyer has flu, Nicky Butt has an ankle injury, and Craig Bellamy is on loan at Celtic. In addition new centre-back Jean-Alain Boumsong is ineligible as he is cup-tied. Meanwhile, Heerenveen coach Gertjan Verbeek has received a boost with the recovery of leading scorer Klaas Jan Huntelaar from injury. A look at the recent away results for the Northeast club doesn't make particularly impressive reading. A draw at Man City, defeat at Highbury, draw at West Brom, as well as being held by non-league Yeading for 45 minutes is not fantastic. In contrast to the visitors, the Dutch side have won 60% of their home games in the league, and all three home fixtures in the UEFA Cup, including victory over Stuttgart who are well placed in the Bundesliga. A major source of goals has come from Klaas Jan Huntelaar, who as mentioned above is fit again. It wouldn't be a major shock to see the leading scorer hit the back of the net against a reshuffled Magpies defence.VCBet offer a standout 9/4 on Huntelaar. It is also worth backing the home team for victory at 11/5. Heerenveen have proven to be a strong team at home, while Newcastle have consistently faltered on their travels. Yes they did win a couple of times away in this competition earlier in the season, but the opposition then was considerably weaker than it is now. #1 Betfair Bonus £25 Free Bet.#2 Ladbrokes £25 Free Bet.#3 Paddypower Bonus £20 Free Bet.