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Roberto wary of Newcastle United as they are “Very powerful when they go to attack”

4 years ago
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Roberto is set to make his fifth competitive appearance of the season on Saturday afternoon.

The West Ham goal keeper  in line to face Newcastle United at the London Stadium.

Losing to Man City on the opening day of the season, first choice keeper Fabianski and his teammates bounced back with three Premier League wins and two draws, only conceding twice and keeping three clean sheets.

However, life has been tougher for Roberto since replacing the injured Fabianski during a 2-2 draw at Bournemouth.

No clean sheets, with only two points from four PL games and 10 goals conceded by Roberto in his last five games (all competitions) including a 4-0 hammering at Oxford in the League Cup.

West Ham boss Manuel Pellegrini has yet to lose against Newcastle in his managerial career and won’t be expecting that to change on Saturday.

Roberto declares: ‘We expect to face a very tough team. Newcastle are strong, very good defensively, and very powerful when they go to attack.’

The reality of course is that before Jamaal Lascelles scored on Sunday against Wolves, Newcastle had scored only one goal in over eight hours of football.

Steve Bruce continuing to stick with his very negative brand of football and with his team defending so deep in that second-half instead of having any attacking intent, handed total control to Wolves and even Lascelles himself has said the equaliser was inevitable.

Will Bruce change his tactics on Saturday?

We dream of Newcastle scoring an away goal after seven weeks without one. However, with not a single corner or effort on goal in the last two away games, creating chances needs to be a starting point…

Roberto talking to official West Ham site:

“That (Manuel Pellegrini has never lost to Newcastle in his career) puts a lot of pressure on you but we will try to keep this statistic the same.

“We expect to face a very tough team.

“Newcastle are strong, very good defensively, and very powerful when they go to attack.

“The main thing for us, though, is to prepare our team well, and to try to play at our best level.

“That is the most important thing for the arrival of Newcastle in this moment, and if we do, it could be a good chance for us.

“It’s my fourth league and my fourth country, and of course the Premier League is the best league I’ve played in.

“The challenge is bigger in the Premier League because teams don’t stop attacking – ever!

“In Spain, modern football is moving more towards having a lot of possession and choosing when to attack the box.

“Here, for goalkeepers, you have more chances to make saves and the pace of the games is higher.

“Goalkeepers enjoy being involved in the game – sometimes it can be very difficult to concentrate when you don’t touch the ball in the 90 minutes.

“That’s why I’m enjoying it a lot in the Premier League.”

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