Eddie Howe will be hoping to arrest his Newcastle side’s poor run of form when they take on Fulham at St James’ Park on Saturday afternoon.
With no European football to think about between now and the end of the season, Newcastle can refocus on staying strong within the league amidst their current poor run of form.
Despite getting the favour they needed in midweek from Dortmund, their 2-1 loss to Milan saw them be dumped out of Europe completely.
However, the chance to focus on the league will be huge with regular midweek football proving too much for a thin squad.
Domestic form will need to pick up, with injuries continuing to bite at Howe’s squad, they suffered heavy away defeats against Everton and Tottenham last week. This means the Magpies have now already suffered more Premier League losses in 2023-24 season (six) than they did in the entirety of 2022-23 (five), and they enter Matchday 17 seven points off the top four.
Is there good news for Eddie Howe and the squad?
The injury crisis could be easing for Howe and his Newcastle squad. There could be at least four players able to come back into his squad with Sven Botman pushing for a return along with Callum Wilson, Sean Longstaff and Dan Burn.
The return of Wilson is a particular boost; of all players to attempt at least 20 shots in the Premier League this season, the striker has the highest shot conversion rate with seven goals from 22 attempts.
His potency in front of goal will give Howe an extra dimension against a Fulham defence that has conceded 26 goals in the league this season.
Newcastle still have plenty of absentees, though, with Nick Pope, Jacob Murphy, Joe Willock, Elliot Anderson and Harvey Barnes all injured, while Kieran Trippier is suspended after receiving his fifth yellow card of the season against Spurs last Sunday.
Despite being vulnerable at the back, Newcastle will have to be sharper than their last two games in defence, with Fulham coming into the game in form in the attacking third.
Back-to-back 5-0 thrashings of Nottingham Forest and West Ham have lifted Marco Silva’s team into the top half, and they travel to Tyneside full of confidence.
