Newcastle United began their 2015-16 Barclays Premier League campaign with an entertaining 2-2 draw against Southampton last weekend, leaving head coach Steve McClaren still waiting for his first victory as Magpies boss but proud of the way his side had played nonetheless. Goals from Papiss Cisse and Georginio Wijnaldum, who netted on his Premier League debut at St James' Park, gave the Toon Army plenty to shout about - even if the same old problems came back to haunt the Magpies once more as they conceded twice from headers. A point was a decent start to the season but, with Shane Long equalising with just 11 minutes remaining, Newcastle had been dreaming of victory. Their campaign continues this weekend with their first away trip of the season as they visit the Liberty Stadium to face Swansea City on Saturday (3pm kick-off). The Swans also took a point from their opening fixture as they left Stamford Bridge with a 2-2 draw. Holding Champions Chelsea is no mean feat, and Garry Monk's men will be buoyed heading into this fixture on their home turf. But where is the game likely to be won and lost on Saturday? Who are the dangermen both the Swans and Magpies should be looking out for respectively? Here, WhatCulture.com/NUFC look at three key head-to-head battles that will decide the outcome of this game, comparing players from both sides who play in the same position using their statistics from the 2014-15 campaign.
NUFC editor for WhatCulture.com/NUFC. History graduate (University of Edinburgh) and NCTJ-trained journalist. I love sports, hopelessly following Newcastle United and Newcastle Falcons. My pastimes include watching and attending sports matches religiously, reading spy books and sampling ales.
