Newcastle vs Fernerbache Betting Tips

Both Newcastle and Fernerbache have pretty much blemish-free records so far in this season's UEFA Cup, albeit against weak opposition, and both will go into their clash at St James's Park on Thursday evening with high hopes of wresting the spoils. Fernerbache were crowned Turkish Superleague champions for a record sixteenth time last season and while that league is not a spot on the one on which Newcastle ply their trade in terms of quality, the Magpies could be in for a rough time of it. Currently second behind Manisaspor in the league, Fernerbache do not find goals hard to come by. They put five past Randers Freja over the two legs of the first round of this competition and, given that Newcastle's defence can be decidedly suspect on occasions, the Turks, headed by striker Tuncay Sanli will fancy their chances of chalking up a valuable away goal or two. Given the quality in their side, Newcastle shouldn't be in the bottom quarter of the Premiership table, but that's where they are currently marooned, and all concerned with the club must be becoming exasperated with both the bad luck they've endured in the transfer market, and their failure to make things happen on the pitch. Michael Owen was one heck of a coup for club chairman Freddy Shepherd when he and Toon Army stalwart Alan Shearer went on the charm offensive to lure the striker back to the Premiership following an indifferent stint with Real Madrid. However, Owen is, once again, on the easy list, with light at the end of the tunnel constantly diminishing. Add to this the £9.5million paid for Alberto Luque, who Newcastle prized from Deportivo in August of last year. The 28-year-old has done precious little to justify his price tag thus far, while Damien Duff, top class though he is on his day, has so far failed to do for Newcastle what he did for Chelsea and Blackburn before them. One piece of transfer market activity which might turn out to be a stroke of genius for the Tyneside club was the free capture of Obafemi Martins from Inter. He hasn't set the world alight yet, but proved what a good finisher he is when on song by netting Newcastle's two goals during their 2-1 victory over Levadia Tallinn in their first round of this competition. Newcastle must try and establish a lead in this match as it will not be an easy task when they travel to Turkey for the second leg. The environment could be a hostile one. Much depends largely on whether Newcastle score early in this game. if they do, the Turks will probably try and contain them for much of the match before trying to nick a goal late on. However, if Glen Roeder's men fail to impose themselves on this game from the outset, Fernerbache will become increasingly dangerous as they gain confidence. Midfielders like Emre and Parker will need to ensure that they marshall the middle of the park with intent, and not allow the visitors to get into a rhythm. This is a tricky game to predict. The outcome depends on the start of the game. But Newcastle could be in real danger of exiting this tournament prematurely if they do not get something from this first leg. In any case, I cannot envisage more than a goal being scored in this tie, therefore opting for 0-1 in the total goals market at 2/1 with totesport looks the way to go. Verdict - 2pts 0-1 in the total goals market @ 2/1 (totesport)