Newcastle vs Brentford
Competition – Barclays Premier League
Stadium: St. James’ Park
Date: 16th September 2023
Kick-off time – 17:30 GMT
Premier League actions returns this weekend with struggling Newcastle United hosting unbeaten Brentford in the fifth league game of the 2023/24 season.
After a positive end to last season, Newcastle would have felt powerful and confident going into the new season, especially given their summer recruitment.
But after an opening day 5-1 mauling of Aston Villa, things have gone south for Eddie Howe’s side as they have lost three games on the bounce. That losing run includes a 2-1 loss to Liverpool at St. James Park despite playing for over one hour with a man advantage, and a 3-1 loss to Brighton last time out.
While it can be argued that the Magpies’ poor results have come because they have played all the teams that finished in the top seven places last season, they cannot continue to lose against top opponents if they want to be successful in the Champions League.
Ahead of this game, Howe will be hoping he can sort his defence out as their once much-hailed backline has failed to keep a clean sheet this season. They have also recorded only one shutout in their last 15 matches, which could be an explanation for lacklustre recent results.
But having avoided defeat against visitors Brentford in their last eight league H2Hs (W7, D1), the St James’ Park faithful will be hopeful heading into the weekend.
Meanwhile, Brentford will travel to Tyneside in good form, having not tasted defeat this season in all competitions despite facing Tottenham, whom they held to a 2-2 draw at home.
Thomas Frank’s side could have been even higher up the table if not for some poor defending and their poor attitude at holding onto their leads.
However, despite their inability to see off games, the supporters of the West London outfit will be expecting a good result here, considering their side have lost only once in their last 12 outings (W7, D4).
History is also on the line here, as victory would see them win three consecutive top-flight away matches for the very first time in their history.
Other fixtures taking place this week in the Premier League Fixtures:
November 23, 2024
Leicester City
13:30
Chelsea
AFC Bournemouth
16:00
Brighton & Hov…
Arsenal
16:00
Nottingham Forest
Aston Villa
16:00
Crystal Palace
Everton
16:00
Brentford
Fulham
16:00
Wolverhampton Wanderers
Manchester City
18:30
Tottenham Hotspur
November 24, 2024
Southampton
15:00
Liverpool
Ipswich Town
17:30
Manchester United
November 25, 2024
Newcastle United
21:00
West Ham United
November 29, 2024
Brighton & Hov…
21:00
Southampton
November 30, 2024
Brentford
16:00
Leicester City
Crystal Palace
16:00
Newcastle United
Nottingham Forest
16:00
Ipswich Town
Wolverhampton Wanderers
16:00
AFC Bournemouth
West Ham United
18:30
Arsenal
December 1, 2024
Chelsea
14:30
Aston Villa
Manchester United
14:30
Everton
Tottenham Hotspur
14:30
Fulham
Liverpool
17:00
Manchester City
Premier League Table
#
Team
MP
W
D
L
F
A
G
P
1
Liverpool
11
9
1
1
21
6
+15
28
2
Manchester City
11
7
2
2
22
13
+9
23
3
Chelsea
11
5
4
2
21
13
+8
19
4
Arsenal
11
5
4
2
18
12
+6
19
5
Nottingham Forest
11
5
4
2
15
10
+5
19
6
Brighton & Hov…
11
5
4
2
19
15
+4
19
7
Fulham
11
5
3
3
16
13
+3
18
8
Newcastle United
11
5
3
3
13
11
+2
18
9
Aston Villa
11
5
3
3
17
17
+0
18
10
Tottenham Hotspur
11
5
1
5
23
13
+10
16
11
Brentford
11
5
1
5
22
22
+0
16
12
AFC Bournemouth
11
4
3
4
15
15
+0
15
13
Manchester United
11
4
3
4
12
12
+0
15
14
West Ham United
11
3
3
5
13
19
-6
12
15
Leicester City
11
2
4
5
14
21
-7
10
16
Everton
11
2
4
5
10
17
-7
10
17
Ipswich Town
11
1
5
5
12
22
-10
8
18
Crystal Palace
11
1
4
6
8
15
-7
7
19
Wolverhampton Wanderers
11
1
3
7
16
27
-11
6
20
Southampton
11
1
1
9
7
21
-14
4