And so it begins, again, as Newcastle United embark on another huge nine days which will see three pivotal games played.
Context is everything for United, and with pressure being applied to the side from all angles, but particularly the poor away form, the next three matches being at St James’ Park provide an opportunity to finally springboard the season and build momentum.
Newcastle are a completely different animal at St James’ Park, picking up 147 points at home under Eddie Howe’s tenure, and many other notable victories. Additionally, in each of the four years under Howe the side has gone on an impressive winning/unbeaten streak:
2021/22: Eight unbeaten in all competitions (six wins, two draws) between 15 Jan and 10 Mar
2022/23: Fifteen unbeaten in all competitions (nine wins, six draws) between 3 Sept and 7 Jan
2023/24: Eight unbeaten in all competitions (six wins, two draws) between 16 Sept and 21 Oct
2024/25: Nine wins in a row in all competitions between 14 Dec and 18 Jan
In what will come as little surprise, the two seasons which most of the fanbase think of as the standouts (2022/23 & 2024/25) were the ones without European football to contend with, and you can see just how much of an impact playing in Europe has on the period of time these extended unbeaten runs cover: 126 days in 2022/23 compared to just 35 in 2023/24, highlighting just how much the volume of games impacts upon maintaining consistent form over an extended period.
Therefore, it’s vital the team start an unbeaten sequence and there’s nowhere better for United to do this than with back-to-back-to-back home games.
Benfica (Champions League) – Tuesday 21st October
The next game is always the biggest, but with Portuguese giants Benfica rolling into town on Tuesday, now managed by José Mourinho, it promises to be a momentous and sentimental (for some) occasion.
Whatever you think of Mourinho, it cannot be argued that he doesn’t hold Newcastle in the highest regard thanks to his early career relationship with one of our favourite sons, Sir Bobby. And the man who the Portuguese still affectionately calls “Mr. Robson” will surely be at the forefront of pre-match press conferences.
Mourinho actually has a generally horrible record at SJP, with Tuesday offering the former Chelsea, Inter, and Real Madrid manager (among others) the opportunity to win just his fourth game on Tyneside. Some would argue that Mourinho’s style of play/management is on the wane in modern football, but the 62-year-old still knows how to set up a side to frustrate and disrupt with the best of them.
Unfortunately, close games have been United’s kryptonite so far this season, and much will depend on how the team sheet looks (especially with Sandro Tonali missing training this morning), but with the crowd up for it, United can start this huge nine days with a win.
Fulham (Premier League) – Saturday 25th October
Cliché alert: but the league is Newcastle’s bread and butter, and so far this season form has been stretched thin like butter scraped over too much bread. Tortured metaphors notwithstanding, the team must beat Fulham (hopefully convincingly) to maintain, but hopefully reduce, the gap that is starting to open up between mid-table and where United want to be competing at the end of the season.
Fulham are also enduring an indifferent start to the season having lost their last three in the league (Arsenal, Bournemouth, Villa) but they beat United twice last season. Hampered by a difficult summer that only saw them sign players on transfer deadline day, they pretty much have the same side as last year, and that staleness seems to be creeping in at Craven Cottage.
Newcastle can beat anyone at home, but it would be an indicator of improvement if the lads could win this game well, so that everyone can bounce into the game against Spurs.
Spurs (Carabao Cup) – Wednesday 29th October
Could be a real pressure cooker match if United haven’t done well in the two preceding, but either way, expect this game to feature heavy rotation. Thomas Frank’s sides’ underlying statistics this season are actually pretty poor, but they have tended to win the tight games they’ve been in this season or at least rescued a point.
A cursory look at the stats will tell you Spurs are weak in aerial duels and very weak at avoiding offsides, avoiding individual errors, and defending against skilful players, but they will more than likely improve with the return of Dominic Solanke and Randall Kolo Muani, who have both been practically injured all season so far.
Expect rotation from Newcastle too, especially at full-back, where despite the lack of options, Howe can’t expect a 35-year-old Kieran Trippier and a 33-year-old (out of position) Dan Burn to play all nine games in 22 days before the next international break, so a solution will have to be found.
Will Osula will probably start, as you can’t expect Nick Woltemade to start all nine games either, and the wingers will continue to be rotated as they look to find some sort of form.
Probably the “most losable” of the three games, as prioritisation is something most elite clubs/clubs who want to be elite have to deal with, although personally I wouldn’t want to surrender our trophy quite this early.
Whatever happens over the next nine days, it promises to be fascinating, probably nail-biting, hopefully thrilling run of games at SJP which could be make or break for United’s 2025/26 season.
