Lewis Hall vs Rayan: The key battle that could decide Newcastle United vs Bournemouth
Newcastle United face a new look Bournemouth side under Marco Rose tomorrow, but one that will still impose a physical and high intensity game on the Magpies, just like Iraola's side did previous.
If the first two games of the season are anything to go by, Matthias Jaissle isn't one to back down and will likely continue to deploy his own high intensity tactical outlook, which could lead to a bit of a basketball match on Tyneside.
There will be battles all over the pitch, but perhaps the one which could be the most important to the actual outcome of the game is Lewis Hall and Rayan down Newcastle's left hand side.
How Rayan will be deployed
This match up actually has a little bit of history, unfortunately for Lewis Hall he was on the wrong side of it when Rayan created Bournemouth's opener last season at St James' Park.
This year will see him deployed a bit differently, with less onus on him to get to the byline and put crosses in the box.
Under Marco Rose, Rayan is tasked with drifting inside in possession and looking to combine in intricate central areas, with the overlapping full back providing the width.
Out of possession, Rayan will stay inside to make a kind of 4-2-2-2 formation, looking to force the ball wide and prevent easy line breaks in central areas and allow a massively aggressive press to expand from there.
What that means for Hall
What that means for Lewis Hall is that he will likely receive a lot of the ball in Newcastle's build up, especially with his press resistant abilities and tendency to drive Newcastle up the pitch with his ball carrying runs.
Out of possession Hall will probably have a bit more of a midfielder's responsibility when it comes to preventing Rayan from getting on the ball, he could be told to stay wide and stick with the opposing full back depending how Jaissle decides to combat Rose, though, I will concede.
If the latter is the case, Hall will still have a massive responsibility, perhaps even more so, in possession. There could be a massive amount of space to exploit in wide areas, especially in transition which is where we have thrived in games so far.
Why it could decide the game
Hall has been excellent so far this season in stuffing the threat of the wingers he faces. Interestingly enough, this will be his third different type of winger this season, and quite possibly the most difficult too.
Against Liverpool he faced an out and out winger who tried to get at him in 1vs1 situations. Against Spurs he faced Pedro Porro, a right back shoehorned into the wide area and not quite as prolific in terms of taking on his man.
This weekend Hall will be facing a player who CAN take him on (and has shown it) if the opportunity arises, but may be asked to fulfill a central role to support Evanilson more readily.
Of course it's all relative, but as a full back myself I know just how hard it can be to deal with a winger who simply isn't where your brain is wired to think he should be.
The positive for Hall is likely that a good chunk of his youth career was as a midfielder, and he has a set of attributes that lend him fondly to that position - that will undoubtedly help him when it comes to that defensive side of the game.
If Hall is able to get a grip of the tricky Brazilian early doors, we could see Bournemouth's most direct threat nullified, creating much more freedom in those transitions and turnovers to go and exploit the spaces Bournemouth leave behind.
And that is ultimately where I think the game could be won for Newcastle United and Matthais Jaissle.
