Eddie Howe rotated his squad for the midweek meeting of Manchester United in the EFL Cup and his charges made mincemeat of a Red Devils side in turmoil right now, the Magpies easily steering a path for themselves into the quarter-finals of the competition thanks to a convincing 3-0 win at Old Trafford. This was sweet revenge for the 2-0 defeat that Newcastle suffered against the same opposition in the EFL Cup Final last season and it keeps them very much in the mix for the first piece of silverware of 2023/24, Howe’s men up against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in the next round of the competition on 19th December. Indeed, with eight sides now left in the tournament, Newcastle United are third favourites to lift the trophy for the first time in their history with the leading UK betting websites going a best price of 4/1 on the Magpies.
In the Premier League, Howe’s men have been something of a mixed bag with wins in exactly half of their opening ten games. An opening-day 5-1 win at home to Aston Villa provided plenty of promise for the season ahead but this was followed by three back-to-back defeats to Manchester City (1-0), Liverpool (1-2) and Brighton & Hove Albion (3-1). Since then, the Magpies have lost just once in their last eleven competitive outings – this being a narrow 1-0 defeat at home to Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League – and they will be in confident mood ahead of their weekend clash with Arsenal at St James’ Park. Newcastle bagged the final Champions League berth at the end of last season by finishing fourth in the Premier League table and they are currently priced at best odds of 2/1 to achieve a top four finish at the end of 2023/24. As far as the Premier League title is concerned, Howe’s men are a general 66/1 shot to lift the trophy with the leading bookmakers offering a wealth of free bet offers in this particular market.
Newcastle will be facing some tough assignments in the weeks ahead, the visit of high-flying Arsenal this weekend certain to be a tricky test. The Gunners currently sit in second position in the Premier League table and are one of just two top-flight sides – the others being Tottenham Hotspur – yet to taste defeat whilst in league action this season. Mikel Arteta’s men were dumped out of the EFL Cup by city rivals West Ham United last night and clearly they will be doing their utmost to bounce back from this disappointment when they visit St James’ Park on Saturday evening.
Just three days later, the Magpies find themselves back in European action when they travel to a Borussia Dortmund side against whom they lost 1-0 on home soil in the last meeting. The Bundesliga side are level on points with Howe’s side in Champions League Group F after three rounds of fixtures and victory here could be enough to send them to the summit of the group table, should PSG fail to beat AC Milan in the other group game. The Magpies are currently second favourites after Paris Saint-Germain to finish at the summit of Group F at a general 7/2 and they are a best price of Evens to qualify for the knockout stages of the competition, while they are 28/2 to be crowned European Champions, the leading bookmakers giving away some exceptional UK and Irish free bets on the tournament.
Newcastle find themselves back on the road on 11th November when they face an AFC Bournemouth side which have managed just a solitary victory from their ten Premier League outings this season. The Cherries’ last league outing ended in a 2-1 win over fellow strugglers Burnley at the Vitality Stadium but prior to this they had lost four on the bounce whilst on Premier League duty and the Magpies will be confident of claiming three points here.
With England facing Malta and North Macedonia in their final two Euro 2024 qualifiers on 17th and 20th November respectively, Howe’s men won’t see action again until 25th November when they do battle with Chelsea at St James’ Park. The Blues saw their four-game unbeaten run across competitions come to an end when they lost 2-0 at home to city rivals Brentford on Saturday and they will be aiming to respond to that disappointing result by claiming the spoils on Tyneside. The Magpies edged the corresponding fixture in 2022/23 by a single goal and the evidence suggest that this will be another closely fought encounter.
The Magpies find themselves back on Champions League duty on 28th November when they lock horns with a Paris Saint-Germain outfit against whom they won convincingly to the tune of 4-1 at St James’ Park last month. The French champions will be a much tougher proposition in front of their own home fans however and this will be a real test of the Magpies’ Champions League credentials.
All things considered, Eddie Howe’s men are very much in the mix on all three fronts right now and there can be no doubt that the Newcastle United boss has an extremely formidable squad at his disposal. The comprehensive win over Manchester United in the EFL Cup will have boosted morale in the side ahead of some tricky games and in all honesty there’s absolutely no reason why the Magpies can’t go all the way in this competition. In the Premier League and Champions League campaigns, Howe’s side have struggled to really get going, however the victory over PSG last month was certainly a step in the right direction and you can keep abreast of all the Newcastle United action in these tournaments at the BBC Website.
