Jonjo Shelvey Newcastle United Championship

Cardiff City v Newcastle United Betting: Premier League-bound Magpies could suffer promotion hangover

Newcastle's immediate promotion back to the Premier League is not only a cause for celebration but must come with an immense sense of relief for the majority of people connected with the club.

Having spent big in an attempt to bounce straight back into the top flight Rafael Benitez has guided the Magpies out of the Championship at the first time of asking, but that was really the bare minimum most expected of the ante post favourites given their resources and summer transfer activity.

Now they have a tough task on their hands to wrench the title away from table-topping Brighton who could even be crowned champions if Newcastle lose on Friday night in south Wales.

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The visitors are 23/20 (2.15) with dabblebet to follow up Monday night's 4-1 win over Preston with a victory here and cut the lead to a single point, but that price looks very short on a team who may experience a post-promotion dip in fortunes, just as the Seagulls did in a 2-0 defeat to Norwich last week after securing their place at English football's top table.

Rafa Benitez Newcastle United ChampionshipGetty Images

Whether it's the impact of celebrating, looking ahead to the summer or the off-field investigations by HMRC that came to light earlier this week, there could be distractions aplenty for the Magpies and this looks a good time to take on the favourites.

Cardiff, rated as 5/2 (3.50) chances to win the game, are certainly no pushovers either and Neil Warnock's men have been in fine form on home soil in recent weeks. They're six games unbeaten in front of their own fans, winning four of those. The draw is rated as a 23/10 (3.30) chance.

They may still boast the best away form in the second tier (43 points from 22 games) but Newcastle have failed to win any of their last four matches away from St James' Park and were beaten in the previous two so they do little to instil much confidence from a punting perspective.

While a title win would be a fantastic way to end the season for Benitez, the fact is that Brighton look extremely tough to stop given their advantage and favourable remaining two games.

GFX FACT CARDIFF CITY V NEWCASTLEGOAL

The main objective of promotion has now been achieved for Newcastle and that could well dictate that opposing the visitors is the way to go in this game, especially with Cardiff seemingly still focused enough to provide stiff opposition, unlike some teams who have nothing left to play for having achieved a mid-table spot.

The 68-year-old took over at the helm on 5th October last year following a disastrous start to the Championship campaign (P11, W2, D2, L7) and since then has turned things around in impressive fashion. The hosts will provide a very tough trip for any side in the division under his stewardship and could well spring another shock in this one.

Since Warnock took over, the Bluebirds have played 17 home games, winning 10 and drawing four, impressive in any division, let alone the Championship.

At 5/2 (3.50) with dabblebet Cardiff look a fair price to inflict a third straight away defeat on a Newcastle side who have secured the promotion that their spending demanded, and may well be feeling the effects of celebrating a return to the Premier League at the first time of asking.

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