All eyes are on Manchester United as they have just fired coach Erik ten Hag. Therefore, Newcastle's poor form seems to be being ignored.
After 9 rounds of the Premier League this season, the "Magpies" have won 3, drawn 3 and lost 3. They are currently 12th in the rankings and only 1 point ahead of Man United. And the problem for both teams is basically the same: not being able to score.
After a disappointing 2023-2024 campaign, Newcastle entered this season with many vague issues. Under pressure from the Premier League's profit and sustainability rules, they have not had many quality additions to the squad.
The Magpies even had to let two promising young players - Taylor Anderson (21 years old) and Yankuba Minteh (19 years old) - pass away in regret. In contrast, they have only added full-back Lewis Hall from Chelsea after a season playing on loan.
After being hit hard by injuries last season, Newcastle's squad has become extremely vulnerable. And now, five players who made a total of 97 appearances last season - including Anthony Gordon and Kieran Trippier - are out injured.
However, the biggest headache for coach Eddie Howe at the moment is finishing. They are a patient attacking team, ranked 16th in shots per possession but second in xG per shot (0.19).
They also top the box for shots from within the box (77%). But while this has created an average of 1.6 xG per game (10th in the league), they have only managed an average of one real goal.
Before being injured, Gordon, in collaboration with Isak and Joelinton, scored five goals from 49 shots, worth 8.5 xG. Excluding some of Harvey Barnes's beautiful shots (3 goals from shots, worth 2 xG), the entire Newcastle squad converted less than half of their xG into actual goals.
Newcastle will host Arsenal at St. Petersburg. James' Park in the earliest match of round 10 of the Premier League. Against a weak defense of The Gunners, this will be an opportunity for Newcastle's strikers to regain inspiration. Of course, Eddie Howe also needs to be very careful about the attacking power of the away team.
The match between Newcastle and Arsenal takes place at 19:30 on November 2 (Vietnam time).
