After a two-week long international break, Premier League football finally returns tomorrow, and one of the marquee matches of the weekend takes place at St James's Park as Newcastle host Brentford in the final match of Saturday.
The two sides have met on 16 different occasions, with their first encounter dating all the way back to 1934, when both teams were playing in the second division of English football. Newcastle have a major advantage historically as they have beaten The Bees 11 times, whilst Brentford only boast 4 victories against The Magpies.
This will not play a huge role in this match as Brentford are currently undefeated in all of their league games this season. In fact, the last time they experienced defeat in any competitive game was on the 6th of May, where Mohamed Salah's early opener was enough to guide Liverpool to a victory at Anfield.
On the other hand, Newcastle are on a three match losing streak after a tough run of matches, as they travelled to Manchester City and Brighton whilst also hosting Liverpool in this period.
However, do not fool yourself by totally forgetting how good Newcastle are, as they are currently playing some of the best football we have seen from them in the last 15-20 years, and since their financial takeover in October 2021, they have gone from relegation battles to Champions League football in just shy of two years.
This will undoubtedly be an entertaining match for the neutral as both sides play an exciting and attack-minded brand of football, so make sure not to miss out on the action!
Team News
Eddie Howe has six players in his squad that will be unavailable to play against Brentford due to injuries.
Two major absences for The Magpies will be Sandro Tonali and Sven Botman, who are both out of action with a thigh injury and an ankle injury respectively. Both players form part of Newcastle's core group of players who are essential to their success. For now, Howe will have to be without them until they are fully match fit, but the two stars will hopefully be back in action over the course of the next week.
Joe Willock is another key player to be injured. The English midfielder picked up an Achillis injury towards the end of last month and should be set to miss around another month of action.
Newcastle star boy Elliot Anderson has also been ruled out of this match, but fortunately for the 20-year-old it is only a slight knock that keeps him sidelined and will be expected to return very soon.
The remaining two players to be ruled out of this match are the fullback duo of Emil Krafth and Javier Manquillo. Krafth is out with a knee problem and Manquillo is just settling into training after a groin injury, so neither player is expected to be utilised by Howe just yet. Luckily for the Newcastle boss both players are not generally starters so they will both be eased into his side when back in training.
That is all to report from the Newcastle camp, so let us move on to their opponents.
Thomas Frank will be happy to hear that all of his players have come back from their respective international duties all injury free, however there are still four members of the squad to be ruled out through injury or suspension.
Brentford's talisman and main man Ivan Toney is ineligible to feature in any competitions for club or country until January of next year after receiving an eight-month suspension earlier this year. The Bees were expected to miss their star centre-forward a lot more than they have so far, as Bryan Mbeumo and Yoanne Wissa have been in red hot form in his absence.
Joshua Dasilva is the first injured player in discussion. He picked up a hamstring injury in late August which has ruled him out for an extended period of time. When Frank was asked about Dasilva's recovery time, he stated that "We are talking about months". Hopefully for Dasilva he can recover quicker than expected, but if not we hope to see him in action by the end of this year.
Shandon Baptiste and Mikel Damsgaard are the final two players who will miss this match. Baptiste is currently being assessed for a dislocated shoulder that happened in training, so only time will tell when he will return. Damsgaard is also being assessed on a groin issue, but has been training with the squad. There is a slight chance that the later will be involved in the squad for the match.
Likely Lineups
Pope; Targett, Burn, Schar, Trippier; Joelinton, Guimaraes, Longstaff; Gordon, Wilson, Murphy
Flekken; Pinnock, Mee, Collins; Henry, Janelt, Norgaard, Jensen, Hickey; Wissa, Mbeumo
Key Players
Newcastle- Bruno Guimaraes
Newcastle's midfield maestro is on obvious choice as Newcastle's key player. Since his arrival from Lyon in January 2022, the Brazilian has been a mainstay in Howe's side, and is arguably the most influential player at the club right now.
Guimaraes is your complete package at the centre of the park, with his mixture of technical prowess, Brazilian flair and versatility making him one of the league's finest players in his position.
He has made 61 competitive matches so far for the club, scoring 21 goals, and has operated in the 6 and 8 role for his side.
Guimaraes may not be the quickest or the strongest, but his elite football intelligence makes him always one step ahead of everyone on the pitch.
Brentford- Bryan Mbeumo
As mentioned in the team news, nobody has expected Brentford to excel like this in Toneys' absence, and if there was one player to thankl for this it would be Mbeumo.
The Cameroon international has started the season on fire, scoring four goals in his opening four games.
In Brentford's structure, we expect Mbeumo to operate in a strike partnership with Wissa, which Frank generally prefers in tougher games. When Brentford face a less tricky opponent, Mbeumo will play on the right flank and try to cut inside onto his favoured right foot to0 finish off chances.
Despite being criticised for a poor finishing record in the past, he has delivered in the big moments for Brentford, and will be eager to do just that this weekend.
Match Details
Where will the match be played?
St James's Park in Newcastle.
What time is kick off?
Kick off will take place at 5:30pm BST
How can I watch?
The match will be available to watch on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Premier League for viewers in the UK.
