Overview
Last weekend, Newcastle suffered a heavy 0-4 defeat against Manchester City. That was the third of three defeats in the last round of the Premier League for coach Eddie Howe's team.
Newcastle have also been beaten by Bournemouth and Fulham before that. In recent times, Newcastle have shown quite poor defensive ability with a total of 11 goals conceded, an average of 2.75 goals/match.
Meanwhile, Nottingham is 6 points ahead of Newcastle and 4 places above (before round 26). They have been one of the interesting phenomena in the Premier League this season.
However, the performance in the Premier League recently of the home team at City Ground has also been quite inconsistent with 2 wins and 2 losses in the last 4 rounds. Notably, both defeats of coach Nuno Espirito Santo's team against Bournemouth and Fulham took place away.
In general, the balance of power between the two teams at the moment is relatively balanced. Newcastle have scored 42 goals so far, while Nottingham are only 1 goal behind. Both teams have top-placed strikers, Alexander Isak (17 goals) and Chris Wood (18 goals). In addition, their defense is having problems.
Nottingham won their most recent trip to St James' Park when Chris Wood scored a hat-trick in a 3-1 win. But that was their only win in their last 6 meetings.
Newcastle beat Nottingham on penalties in the Carabao Cup earlier this season before winning 3-1 at the Premier League's City Ground.
Personnel situation
Newcastle are still without key midfielder Joelinton. Meanwhile, defenders Jamaal Lascalles and Sven Botman are also sidelined through injury.
On the other side of the front line, Nottingham's squad has almost no significant losses. Only striker Taiwo awoniyi and goalkeeper Carlos Miguel are absent due to injury.
Expected lineup:
Newcastle United: Pope, Livramento, Burn, Schar, Hall, Guimaraes, Tonali, Longstaff, Murphy, Gordon, Isak.
Nottingham Forest: Sels, Aina, Milenkovic, Murillo, Williams, Anderson, Sangare, Gibbs-White, Hudson-Odoi, Elanga, Wood.
The match between Newcastle and Nottingham takes place at 9:00 p.m. on February 23 (Vietnam time).
