Newcastle United’s incredible run of form is catching the attention of fans and pundits alike with Paul Merson the latest to heap praise on Eddie Howe’s side.
Lewis Miley and Will Osula took their opportunity to impress in the 3-1 FA Cup victory over Bromley which made it eight consecutive wins for the Geordies in all competitions including several high profile away fixtures.
The push for European competition in 2025/26 is now in full swing with the prospect of a cup double still an outside possibility, but Newcastle must first and foremost focus on their coming league fixtures with three of the next four at home.
Merson full of praise for Newcastle
Newcastle will welcome Wolves to St. James Park on Wednesday, with Merson expecting us to have too much for Vitor Pereira’s side.
In his latest piece for Sportskeeda, Merson said: “Newcastle are playing some amazing football with all their main players firing at the moment. They’re a team that’s absolutely flying!
“Newcastle have one eye on the Carabao Cup final after beating Arsenal 2-0 in the first leg of the semi-final last week. I bet they wish they could play the return leg this week instead of next month because by that time, they risk having injuries or losing steam.
“I still expect Newcastle to win here though. Wolves enjoyed a kick-start when the new manager came in. But then they lost to Nottingham Forest and I can see them losing again in this one! It should be back to reality for Wolves.”
A Newcastle win – Merson thinks we’ll win 3-0 – is not a bold prediction. We should have enough on current form to dispatch 17th in the league – though complacency mustn’t slip into our approach with the shocking 2-0 defeat against West Ham earlier in the season proof that anything can happen on the day.
As Merson correctly points out, their ‘new manager bounce’ appears to have been short lived with Wolves unable to continue in the early momentum gathered with wins over Leicester and Manchester United – scraping past Bristol City in their FA Cup third round tie after a 3-0 defeat to Forest in their last league game.
A chance to build before fixtures turn in February
Wolves and Bournemouth represent two winnable home games to start Newcastle’s incoming run of four Premier League games before the Carabao Cup semi-final second leg against Arsenal, with Southampton away before a return to SJP against Fulham an opportunity to continue momentum into the big game.
As long as the Cathedral on the Hill acts as a fortress for our home games, we have a great opportunity to keep our ridiculous run going – though I’m not asking for 13 wins on the spin, it’s a feat we’re capable of on current form.
After our FA Cup clash with Birmingham, we’re faced with the difficult task of Man City and Liverpool away either side of Nottingham Forest at home to round out February. Three massive and potentially season defining games, we can ease the pressure coming into the crunch fixtures with a good showing in our next four.