Looking for their third straight win, Eddie Howe’s Newcastle United will play host to a struggling Burnley on Saturday as they meet at St. James’ Park in the Premier League.
Key Takeaways
- The Magpies inflicted a devastating 8-0 defeat on Sheffield United in their last league match
- Burnley have lost all but one of their first five games back in the English top-flight
- The hosts are unbeaten across their past five successive league meetings with the visitors
A slow start for Newcastle has quickly turned around and the Magpies are now undefeated across their last four in all competitions. Vincent Kompany’s Burnley have had a tough start back in the Premier League and have a difficult task in the North East this weekend.
Newcastle United Form
Kicking off the campaign with three defeats from their opening four matches was not the start that Newcastle envisioned for the season. However, they did have an incredibly tough beginning to the campaign. Howe’s side beat Aston Villa in their first match but would go on to lose to Manchester City, Liverpool and Brighton & Hove Albion.
Things have looked a lot more positive since, though, and Newcastle recorded a 1-0 win over Brentford before their monumental Champions League clash against Milan which ended in a goalless draw. Howe’s men demonstrated their attacking talents in a vehement 8-0 triumph away to Sheffield United last weekend before knocking Man City out of the EFL Cup midweek.
Burnley Form
The Clarets have had a tricky start to the campaign and have faced the likes of Man City, Aston Villa, Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United in their first league games of the season. Unsurprisingly, Burnley failed to take a single point from those encounters.
Kompany’s side have managed to pick up just one point so far this term as they drew 1-1 away to Nottingham Forest. However, they have recorded wins over Forest and Salford in the EFL Cup and managed to advance to the fourth round midweek with a comprehensive 4-0 triumph against the latter.
Head-to-Head
Chances of Burnley finding a result here look slim when looking at recent history. The Clarets have failed to record the victory across any of their previous five league meetings with Newcastle, losing their last four in a row. The last time they avoided a loss against the Magpies was at Turf Moor back in 2019.
Team News
Joe Willock and Emil Krafth have been absent now for some time and are not expected to recover for this one for the home side. Harvey Barnes will miss out after picking up an injury against Sheffield United and could be on the sidelines for a while.
Callum Wilson, Sven Botman, Dan Burn and Martin Dubravka were all unavailable against City on Wednesday so remain doubts for the weekend. Alexander Isak and Bruno Guimaraes are both dealing with slight issues too so are questionable.
Darko Churlinov, Michael Obafemi and Hjalmar Ekdal will remain out for Burnley here due to their respective injury issues. Lyle Foster is out and will serve the final one of his three-match ban here, whilst Johann Gudmundsson and Manuel Benson are in doubt.
Key Players
Kieran Trippier supplied three assists during Newcastle’s victory over Sheffield United as he looked back to his creative best. Burnley will need to nullify his threat down the right flank if they are to pick up a result.
Foster is a key loss for the visitors since he has three goal contributions in just four appearances this season. Josh Cullen will likely return to the middle of midfield after he was rested on Tuesday.
Final Thoughts
Newcastle’s selection issues may put a bit of doubt in their minds of securing the win but they are in excellent form and are still favoured for the victory here. Burnley need to start picking up more points if they are to stand a chance at surviving.
Premier League
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