Newcastle United

Pete Davey
Fan writer

Another big weekend, another cup quarter final for Newcastle United.

It’s been rocky season to say the least for us but a chance at getting to Wembley and to move 180 minutes from a trophy cannot be passed up. It would mean everything to Newcastle United to lift the FA Cup - it’s been nearly 70 years since we last won it and with our new owners, they want that major trophies as soon as possible.

Some in the fan base are saying, rest players, play the youth. Not me. Play our strongest side as Manchester City will. It’s already the hardest ground in England to go to, give yourself a chance at least and with the international break after this players will get a chance to rest up before 10 massive Premier League games kick back in.

This match is huge for Eddie Howe as for me there are two key objectives. Firstly, a trip to Wembley would get Howe serious brownie points with the fans, especially beating City.

The second objective is securing European football to continue to climb up the league. Which one is more important? Of course a trophy, but we have the biggest obstacle in our way.

Pete Davey can be found at LoadedMag NUFC, external

Image source, Getty Images

Anthony Gordon has been handed his first England call-up for the upcoming friendly matches against Brazil and Belgium.

The Newcastle forward made 16 appearances for England's under-21 squad and senior boss Gareth Southgate has rewarded him for his fine displays at club level.

"[He's had] consistently good performances," said Southgate. "He was very close in November. He' continued his form, he's scoring and his work for the team is excellent. He competes, which is important. I really like his attitude."

Gordon has 10 goals and seven assists for Newcastle this season, often filling in as a central striker given the injury troubles for Alexander Isak and Callum Wilson.

"We watched him closely in the under-21s where he fulfilled a different role as a false nine but did that really well," He's had a very good season with goals against the big teams which is interesting to see."

Gordon will get his first chance to make his England debut on Saturday, 23 March against Brazil at Wembley.

Full story here

Eddie Howe doesn’t need to motivate his players, or do anything different, to play Manchester City. They’ll be right up for it and be on top of their game because they know what City are all about.

They’ve done alright in big challenges and big games at certain points of the season, so there’s no motivation needed by Eddie.

It’s down to organisation, which is something he is good at, and then just go and try your luck.

They’re building a football club and a better platform. That was highlighted when they incredibly made the Champions League and showed they are an attractive club.

It was going to be tough to continue the force of last season and they probably thought there was going to be more players coming in and there hasn’t been.

There’s also been question marks over players leaving and key players being injured, the most notable their goalkeeper Nick Pope, which I do think has affected them in a big way.

It’s a tough ask though on Saturday because we know City are a good team.

Michael Brown was speaking to BBC Sport's Katie Stafford

Here are the key facts and figures before Saturday's game between Manchester City and Newcastle United in the FA Cup quarter-finals.

• This is the first FA Cup meeting between Manchester City and Newcastle since the 2019-20 quarter-final, when City won 2-0 at St James’ Park.

• Newcastle have lost 15 of their past 16 games at Manchester City, including the past nine.

• City have progressed from their past six FA Cup quarter-finals, since losing to Wigan in 2013-14. They could become the first team to reach the semi-finals in six consecutive campaigns.

• Since the start of last season, only Paul Mullin (nine) has scored more goals in the FA Cup (first round onwards) than Manchester City's Erling Haaland's eight. Haaland's eight goals have been scored over just two games - a hat-trick against Burnley in last season's quarter-finals, and a five-goal haul against Luton Town in the previous round this term.

• After scoring four goals in his first five FA Cup appearances for Newcastle, Miguel Almiron has now failed to find the net in his past six.

Watch Man City v Newcastle live on BBC One, BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website and app at 17:30 GMT on Saturday

At which Premier League clubs are English players getting the most game time this season?

An edition of the BBC Football Extra newsletter posed that question earlier in the week and the results make for interesting reading for fans of a few clubs.

Against a league total of 30.2%, that the proportion of total minutes across all clubs that England-qualified players account for, the range for individual clubs varies from 8% all the way up to 64%.

At the top of the table sit Everton with 64% - this perhaps not hugely surprising as manager Sean Dyche tends to gravitate towards English players. At Burnley across 2020-21 there were four occasions when he picked an 11 containing 10 English players plus Czech striker Matej Vydra, by far the closest we have come to an all-English 11 in recent times. More on that below.

Newcastle are the only other club where England players account for more than half of all minutes this season, clocking in at 53%.

At the other end of the table we find two London rivals, Tottenham and Fulham, where England-qualified players have accounted for just 8% of all minutes this campaign. At Spurs, this includes the game time of Eric Dier, who is no longer at the club.

Two other noteworthy clubs are Aston Villa and Chelsea. In February 1999, Villa fielded an all-English 11, the last time this happened in the league. This season, the percentage of game time given to English players at Villa is 21% - though they do of course fare better if British players are factored in too.

Later in 1999, Chelsea became the first Premier League side to field an 11 without an English player. However, this season they sit at 35% and this despite injuries to Reece James and Ben Chilwell.

The wider context is that the league average of 30.2% is the lowest since 2018/19 (28.9%) and well down on the 36.3% figure of three seasons ago.

And which nations are getting more minutes? One notable nation is Brazil – there was not a single Brazilian in the league when the Premier League came into existence, now they account for the second most minutes played in the league and only four sides don’t have a Brazilian in their regular starting 11.

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Southampton will try to sign Argentine forward Matias Soule from Juventus if they are promoted to the Premier League, while Crystal Palace, Newcastle United and Aston Villa are also interested in the 20-year-old. (Calciomercato - in Italian), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Thursday's full gossip column

Want to see all the best football content from BBC Sport in one place? Now you can with the new BBC Football channel on WhatsApp.

The feed that is available alongside new BBC Sport and BBC Cricket channels gives you another way to stay up to date with our coverage of your favourite sports.

To go directly to the new channel you can click here, external or you can find it via WhatsApp by following the instructions on this page.

Eddie Howe will remain manager of Newcastle even if the Magpies fail to qualify for Europe this season. (Telegraph - subscription required, external)

Want more transfer news? Read Wednesday's full gossip column

Image source, Reuters

Newcastle manager Eddie Howe said his team were made to pay for "poor" goals given away in their 3-2 loss to Chelsea on Monday.

He told BBC Match of the Day: "It was a game that was in the balance, in the first half and the second half.

"I don't think there was a lot between the two teams and it was quite an open game, but the game got away from us really with the goals we conceded, which were really poor from our perspective.

"They weren't necessarily coming, sometimes you can feel a goal coming against you away from home when you're under pressure, but I didn't feel we were. They were self-induced mistakes from us."

• Chelsea have won 10 of their last 11 Premier League home games against Newcastle United (D1), scoring 25 goals and conceding just six.

• Since the start of November, only Brentford (8) have lost more Premier League away games than Newcastle (7), while the Magpies have shipped the most goals on the road during this period (24 in 9 games).

• Cole Palmer has scored in each of his last five home Premier League starts for Chelsea, becoming the sixth player to do so for the Blues in the competition and the first since Olivier Giroud in December 2020.

• Nicolas Jackson's opening goal (5:46), was Chelsea's earliest in a Premier League home game since December 2018 against Fulham (Pedro in the 4th minute).

• Alexander Isak became just the third Newcastle player to score home and away against Chelsea in a single Premier League campaign after Alan Shearer (1996-97) and Dwight Gayle (2017-18).

Manchester City are exploring a move for 26-year-old Newcastle United and Brazil midfielder Bruno Guimaraes, who has a £100m release clause in his contract. (Football Transfers), external

Tottenham have joined Newcastle, Manchester City, Liverpool and Arsenal in hoping to sign 24-year-old Portugal winger Pedro Neto from Wolves this summer. (Football Insider), external

Former Roma sporting director Tiago Pinto, who worked with coach Jose Mourinho at the Italian club, says he is interested in succeeding Manchester United-bound Dan Ashworth at Newcastle. (i Sport - subscription required), external

Want more transfer news? Read Tuesday's full gossip column

Marissa Thomas
BBC Sport journalist

Image source, Getty Images

It was a disappointing night for Eddie Howe's side as they were beaten by Chelsea.

However, the bigger concern will be for Anthony Gordon and Dan Burn who were withdrawn in the first and second half respectively.

The Magpies already have plenty of injuries. Kieran Trippier has a calf problem, while Callum Wilson, Joelinton and Nick Pope remain long-term absentees.

Aleksander Isak and Jacob Murphy's goals were the only moments of quality for the away side as they struggled to get a foothold in the game.

The defensive solidity that held Newcastle in such good stead last season has not been in evidence this campaign.

Since the start of November, only Brentford (8) have lost more Premier League away games than Newcastle (7), while the Magpies have shipped the most goals on the road during this period (24 in nine games).

A huge FA Cup quarter-final match against holders Manchester City beckons on Saturday (17:30 GMT).

Cole Palmer was hugely influential as Chelsea saw off Newcastle in the Premier League at Stamford Bridge.

Palmer struck in the 57th minute, taking a touch to get the ball out of his feet before drilling hard and low past goalkeeper Martin Dubravka.

The Blues had gone ahead early after Sven Botman's poor clearance was pounced on by Palmer, his shot being cleverly steered into the bottom corner by Nicolas Jackson for his second goal in as many league games.

Aleksander Isak's powerful effort from the edge of the area just before the break gave Newcastle hope before Palmer restored Chelsea's lead.

Substitute Mykhailo Mudryk then took the ball off team-mate Conor Gallagher and ran through the Newcastle defence before rounding Dubravka to finish from a tight angle.

Jacob Murphy produced a thumping finish into the top corner on the 90-minute mark, but Mauricio Pochettino's side hung on for their 11th win of the campaign.

Chelsea remain 11th in the table with a game in hand on Newcastle, who are a point and a place above them.

Were you at the match or did you follow it from elsewhere?

Chelsea fans - let us know your thoughts on the game here

How did you rate the side's performance, Newcastle fans?

Follow all of the reaction here

Chelsea take on Newcastle United in the Premier League at Stamford Bridge in just under an hour and the team news is in.

Follow all the build-up and live text commentary here

Image source, Opta

As the Premier League heads into the business end of the season, statisticians Opta have been putting the remaining fixtures through their 'supercomputer' to predict who will finish where in the table at the end of the campaign.

Newcastle, who currently sit 10th, are among a number of teams fighting for a European place next season. They face fellow European football chasers Chelsea on Monday and it could prove to be a key match in that battle.

According to Opta, the Magpies could be set to win that race and have a second season in Europe with a seventh place finish on 58.35 points.

But what do you think Newcastle fans? Do you agree with the prediction or are you worried Eddie Howe and the side will miss out?

Have your say here

Matty Renton
Fan writer

It’s time Gareth Southgate. No more messing around, no more favouritism, get the form players picked and bring it home!

Southgate names his England squad this Thursday for the upcoming friendlies against Brazil and Belgium and if Anthony Gordon isn’t picked, I’ll not be tuning in this summer.

Not just because I’m a biased Newcastle fan. To be honest, from a selfish perspective, if Gordon wasn’t to be selected that would arguably work out better for Toon fans. Knowing our recent luck with injuries he’d break a leg [literally] out in Germany.

I’m saying this from an England fan point of view, a view that if he's selected, the Three Lions have a genuine chance of winning the tournament.

If he isn’t selected, the agony of following England at major tournaments will continue. Anthony has been nothing short of a revelation this season. Double figures for goals in all competitions and nearly matching that with assists. His all-round play has been phenomenal, with effort, energy and passion on show.

He's not just offered going forward with contributions but in helping his team-mates out going back. These performances - if transferred to the national side - would be a huge asset for England.

Honestly, it would be nothing short of insanity if Southgate didn’t put Gordon on that plane to Germany.

I can’t think of another English winger in better form this season! The player himself has made it clear his desire to be at this years Euros, refusing to book a holiday at his girlfriend's expense.

Southgate was at St. James’ Park to watching Gordon score a screamer against Manchester City back in January so he’s seen the player's talent up close. He also saw what Gordon did last summer with England Under-21s, lifting the cup and being awarded player of the tournament at the Euros.

Come on Southgate, pick the best, beat the rest. Gordon must go!

Matty Renton can be found on The Magpie Channel TV, external

Chris Sutton is making predictions for all 380 Premier League matches again this season, against a variety of guests.

For this weekend's games, he takes on The Zutons frontman Dave McCabe, who supports Liverpool, and Better Joy's Bria Keely, who is a Manchester City fan.

Sutton's prediction: 2-1

I could easily end up with zero points this week - and I'm not expecting to pick up anything here either.

How can anyone accurately predict Chelsea versus Newcastle, given the inconsistency we've seen from both teams recently? Which Chelsea team will turn up, and which Newcastle side will we see?

The Magpies bounced back from a bad defeat at Arsenal by beating Wolves, but they haven't won back-to-back league games since the start of December.

I've lost count of the number of times I've backed Chelsea at home, and been wrong, but surely they're going to win again at Stamford Bridge before the end of the season?

I went with the law of averages when I picked a Newcastle home victory last week, so hopefully the same method will work again with Chelsea this time.

Dave's prediction: 3-1

Bria's prediction: 0-2

Chelsea aren't doing too great at the moment but I actually just prefer Newcastle as a club. I went to university there and went to a few games at St James' Park and, even though this is an away game, I'm still going to back the Geordies.

Read the rest of their predictions here

Here are the key facts and figures before Monday's game between Chelsea and Newcastle United in the Premier League.

• Chelsea have lost just one of their 28 Premier League home games against Newcastle United (W20 D7), a 2-0 reverse in May 2012 under Roberto di Matteo.

• After beating Chelsea 4-1 at St James’ Park in November, Newcastle could complete their first league double over the Blues since 1986-87.

• Chelsea haven't lost a home league game in March since 2001 (4-2 to Sunderland). They are unbeaten in 37 such matches since then (W31 D6).

• The Magpies have lost six of their past eight league away matches, as many as in their previous 27. Only Sheffield United (30) have conceded more goals away from home in the Premier League this season than the 29 of Newcastle, who have gone 10 away games in the competition without a clean sheet (25 goals conceded).

• Cole Palmer has been directly involved in 17 goals in his past 18 Premier League appearances for Chelsea (10 goals, seven assists). His assist against Brentford took him ahead of Arjen Robben in 2004-05 (16) to give him the most goals and assists combined by a player aged 21 or younger in a season in the competition for the Blues.

• Newcastle manager Eddie Howe has won four of his past seven Premier League matches against Chelsea (D2 L1), and has a 43% win ratio against them overall. Among managers to face Chelsea more than 10 times in the competition, only Kenny Dalglish (77%) and Pep Guardiola (56%) have a better win ratio.

Image source, PA Media

Eddie Howe is delighted with Tino Livramento's early displays for Newcastle - but sees further potential in the 21-year-old, saying there is "more to come".

Full-back Livramento has made 29 appearances for the Magpies since joining for a initial reported fee of £32m from Southampton in August, 13 of them starts.

"It's been a brilliant start to his Newcastle career," said Howe. "Whether he's played right-back, left-back or in a wide position, he's handled himself really well.

"It goes without saying how good he is athletically, highlighted by his goal against Wolves last weekend when he showed his running ability and then his technical quality to score."

Much of Livramento's final season at the Saints was spent recovering from injury, which limited him to only two Premier League appearance as a substitute in 2022-23.

"I actually think [this season] has been the ideal introduction to his return from injury because not only did he have a serious knee injury, but he had a hamstring injury just after that which kept him out," Howe said. "We needed to nurse him, manage him and look after him.

"How this season's gone has probably been the ideal introduction back and I still think there's more to come. I don't think we've seen the very best of him yet.

"I really do believe in his potential and there's a very exciting future ahead of him hopefully."

Phil Cartwright
BBC Sport journalist

Newcastle manager Eddie Howe has been speaking to the media before Monday's Premier fixture at Chelsea.

Here are the main headlines from his news conference:

• Full-back Kieran Trippier's calf problem is a "minor injury" that is likely to keep him out for Newcastle's next two matches, but Howe hopes he will be fit to return after the international break.

• Howe believes Tino Livramento, who is most likely to deputise for Trippier, has made a "brilliant start to his Newcastle career" following his summer move from Southampton.

• The Magpies boss has been "delighted with every aspect" of Anthony Gordon's game this season, saying the former Everton forward has "added the goals and assists, which is something he needed to do to become the best player he is capable of being".

• Howe confirmed the club has triggered a contract extension for captain Jamaal Lascelles: "He's done incredibly well as a leader and a captain of the group, but also as a player - his game has really developed and he's played an important part this season. There is good competition for places in that area now with everybody fit but he's an integral part of what we're doing."

• Howe is not concentrating too much on the close battle for European places at present, instead preferring to focus on the next opposition: "In terms of analysing tables and teams around us, I'll leave that to you guys."

• On Chelsea: "They have improved throughout the season. Slowly but surely, they've got better and better. They've got top-quality players, an outstanding manager and a lot of young players that they've invested in and they're trying to develop. These things take time."

• Newcastle went out of the Carabao Cup at Chelsea in December, losing a penalty shootout at Stamford Bridge. Reflecting on that match, Howe said: "It was a difficult night. We did a lot right and it was in the middle of our injury difficulties. The players who played gave everything and we were so close. The shootout was difficult as well but I'd like to think we learned from that. Through every difficult experience, there's always a positive if you can find it and that's how we've tried to look at that game."

Follow Friday's Premier League news conferences

With key fixtures on the horizon for the Magpies, the Total Sport Newcastle United Podcast has been looking at what's on the slate as Eddie Howe's side attempt to push themselves up the league and into a European spot.

Listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds