Newcastle United will look to extend their unbeaten run across all competitions to five games when they host Burnley in the Premier League on Saturday.
After cruising past Aston Villa 5-1 at St. James’ Park on opening day, the Magpies lost three games on the spin to Manchester City, Liverpool, and Brighton & Hove Albion. But they have since bounced back in style. Newcastle United, who face Burnley this weekend, first registered a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Brentford before producing a battling goalless draw with AC Milan on their return to the Champions League.
The Toon then ripped through an awful Sheffield United to record an 8-0 victory at Bramall Lane on Sunday, with eight different players getting on the scoresheet before midweek action saw Eddie Howe’s side knock reigning English champions Manchester City out of the Carabao Cup at St. James’ Park.
Their prize for knocking out last season’s treble winners is a trip to Old Trafford next month for a repeat of last year’s Carabao Cup final to take on Manchester United. With Paris Saint-Germain set to come to town before that for a blockbuster Champions League clash on October 3, Newcastle United will look to keep the momentum going with another win at home against Burnley here.
Burnley, meanwhile, were also successful in the third round of the EFL Cup in midweek, seeing off Salford City in a pretty straightforward 4-0 win. But a narrow defeat to a depleted Manchester United side in their last league outing leaves them languishing 19th heading into the weekend.
Team News and Tactics
Newcastle United
Eddie Howe on Harvey Barnes:
"We think he's going to be out for around three months. No surgery required which is good news but his foot is now in a boot. It's an injury underneath his toe. He's now started his recovery and he's got to rest to let it recover then we can build… pic.twitter.com/tI649u3QM3
— Newcastle United FC (@NUFC) September 29, 2023
Eddie Howe took no risks with a number of key players during Wednesday’s win against Manchester City. Sven Botman and Callum Wilson were left out to recover from knee and hamstring knocks, while Dan Burn was absent through illness. The trio has recovered from their respective injury concerns and should be back in contention for the weekend.
However, summer recruit Harvey Barnes was an unfortunate casualty in the Sheffield United drubbing and will be sidelined for an extended period with a foot problem, joining Joe Willock and Emil Krafth on the long-term injury absentee list.
Having made ten changes from the side that thrashed Sheffield United, it would be fair to say that Newcastle really struggled in the first half against Manchester City last night. The stats showed total City dominance in every area of the pitch. But Newcastle’s defence held their own, and the teams went into the break at 0-0.
Eddie Howe elected to make a couple of changes at halftime, opting to swap both Lewis Hall and Lewis Miley for more experienced players in Anthony Gordon and Bruno Guimaraes, which shifted the momentum in their favour.
Both are sure to make a return to the starting XI here, as will Paraguayan speedster Miguel Almiron and the club’s joint top scorer, Callum Wilson, who is expected to feature ahead of Alexander Isak in the central striker role.
Joelinton’s absence has affected the midfield mix at St. James’ Park in recent weeks. But he surprisingly made an early return from injury to start against City and looked as impressive as ever. The Brazilian destroyer could well be rested here, with Sean Longstaff, who has performed brilliantly so far, and Elliot Anderson coming into the midfield against Burnley.
At the back, Paul Dummett, Jamaal Lascelles, and Valentino Livramento all played out of their skins in midweek, with the latter even receiving the Player of the Match award for his defensive masterclass against Jack Grealish.
Having said that, expect the first-choice back four to return here, comprising Fabian Schar and Sven Botman as central defensive pairings, flanked by towering Dan Burn and creator-in-chief Kieran Trippier, who had the freedom of Bramall Lane last Sunday and bagged a hat-trick of assists.
Probable Lineup (4-3-3): Pope; Trippier, Schar, Botman, Burn; Longstaff, Guimaraes, Anderson; Almiron, Wilson, Gordon
Burnley
Vincent Kompany is set to be without at least five players for the trip to Tyneside, including top scorer Lyle Foster, who will complete his three-game suspension here.
Hjalmar Ekdal (knee), Darko Churlinov (blood poisoning), Michael Obafemi (hamstring), and Lyle Foster (suspended) remain unavailable, while Johann Berg Gudmundsson was forced off in the 1-0 loss to Manchester United due to a tight calf and remains a doubt.
Tuesday night saw another potential injury in Manuel Benson, who picked up an ankle problem. It has been a difficult start for Burnley, though heavy rotations against Salford mean they should be in good shape.
The boss is eager for Saturday's visit to St. James' Park despite the threat of the Magpies 👇 pic.twitter.com/zIGNnQLTs1
— Burnley FC (@BurnleyOfficial) September 28, 2023
The visitors are able to create promising goal-scoring chances, unlike most of their relegation rivals, but the goals have to follow to improve their survival prospects. The positive piece of news for Burnley is that it looks like Vitinho will be fit to feature against Newcastle, having played 65 minutes in the midweek.
One man who has made a huge claim for more playing time for the trip to Newcastle is Anass Zaroury, who picked up three assists against Salford City. His league form has been fairly poor, including a red card against Manchester City.
Zeki Amdouni will spearhead the Burnley attack on Saturday, with Aaron Ramsey sitting behind him in the No. 10 role, while Luca Koleosho will run his errands from the right wing.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Trafford; Roberts, Al-Dakhil, Beyer, Taylor; Cullen, Brownhill; Zaroury, Ramsey, Koleosho; Amdouni
Key Stats
- Burnley have lost their last four Premier League meetings with Newcastle United.
- Newcastle have not lost any of their last nine home league games against Burnley.
- Newcastle United’s 8-0 win against Sheffield United in their last Premier League encounter was their biggest-ever away league win.
- Burnley have not won in three of their last four matches (L2 D1).
- The visitors have lost seven of their last nine Premier League fixtures.
Player to Watch
Anthony Gordon
It likely was not a coincidence that Anthony Gordon’s half-time introduction coincided with Newcastle taking control of the EFL Cup game against Manchester City.
Anthony Gordon was made for Newcastle United. pic.twitter.com/s1PfCKjDL9
— ED (@_fantasyED) September 28, 2023
Much like he did after coming off the bench at Bramall Lane over the weekend, where he bagged a goal and an assist, the 22-year-old brought a whole new energy to the side and had the fans on their feet with a crunching challenge on Mateo Kovacic in front of the dugout that had even Pep Guardiola applauding his tenacity.
The Everton academy product sealed a £45 million January transfer to St. James’ Park in controversial circumstances. But the winger initially struggled to settle in. Off the back of winning player of the tournament at the Under-21 European Championships, the all-action winger carried over his form and has been incredible this season.
From his six Premier League games, he has two goals and two assists, as well as making his Champions League debut at San Siro and helping Newcastle come out on top against Manchester City. He is quickly becoming one of the most effective players at Eddie Howe’s disposal and will look to add to his tally against a weak Burnley defence.
Prediction
Newcastle United 2-1 Burnley
The Magpies look to have regained much-needed confidence after a string of positive results and will go all guns blazing at the Clarets as they look to move closer to the Champions League spots and use this opportunity as a high-intensity warm-up ahead of welcoming PSG at St. James’ Park in midweek.
Although Burnley have had an extra day to recover and prepare for this fixture, they have largely flattered to deceive under Vincent Kompany this season. For all of their positive, free-flowing attacking play, they still lack a cutting edge in attack, which has been exacerbated by the suspension of Lyle Foster, who has netted twice in four league appearances.
With that in mind, The Hard Tackle predicts a comfortable 2-0 win for Eddie Howe’s side to continue riding the crest of a wave ahead of St. James’ Park’s first Champions League night in nearly two decades in midweek.
