NRL Round 13 Preview - Eels v Knights @ ANZ Stadium

Parramatta Eels v Newcastle Knights @ ANZ Stadium
 
Preview - The Eels will be searching for just their third win of the season when they host the Knights at ANZ Stadium on Saturday night. The Eels have slumped to another 4-match losing streak, after going down 18-10 to the Broncos in a game they competed hard in, but once again made so many fundamental errors, to remain rooted to the bottom of the table. The Knights’ slump continued, losing their 4th game straight in a disappointing 48-10 home loss to Cronulla, which was the 4th straight game the side has conceded more than 29 points. 
 
Parramatta Eels’ Scouting Report - Brad Arthur has dropped a big name, with Corey Norman out of the 21 completely, after a string of average performances in 2018.  Bevan French moves to his preferred fullback position and Josh Hoffman returns on the wing. There are no other changes to the 17, but lock Nathan Brown has been named in the Reserves as he eyes a return from an ankle injury suffered in Round 5.
 
Newcastle Knights’ Scouting Report - Nathan Brown is forced into a change in the backline with Nathan Ross out with a groin injury, being  replaced at centre by Corey Denniss. The Knights will be sweating on the fitness of Kalyn Ponga, who has been named despite a couple of head knocks recently. Jacob Lillyman starts at prop for the suspended Herman Ese'ese, with Josh King recalled on the bench.
 
Verdict – Eels by 1-8

Both sides are going horribly at the moment, so very hard to tip a winner with confidence here. I’m tempted to tip the Knights as they have showed more than the Eels throughout the season; however I’ll lean towards the Eels just because the Knights have been atrocious defensively in the last four weeks. The Eels have not conceded more than 25 points in their last four losses, whilst the Knights have conceded a total of 139 points in their last four games, which is not NRL standard. Unfortunately for them, Mitchell Pearce is a monumental loss, so I'm backing the Eels to sneak home here, despite having little confidence in the direction they are going.