Newcastle United suffered a surprise defeat against West Ham United at St. James' Park on Monday evening, and thus the gravity of this weekend's Premier League contest against Crystal Palace is heightened.
Eddie Howe's side have shown flashes of brilliance this season but are stuck in a stream of inconsistency that is hindering the quest for European football.
Newcastle players look dejected
Palace have failed to kick on this season after displaying such remarkable progress under Oliver Glasner last year, but they remain a threat and Selhurst Park is a ground known to swallow teams up.
It won't be easy, but with Alexander Isak back in red-hot form, the Magpies have a weapon that could silence the south Londoners.
Alexander Isak could be Palace's undoing
Newcastle signed Real Sociedad's talented striker in a club-record £63m package in 2022, and while he suffered an injury-affected debut campaign, Isak has posted 40 goals and seven assists across 79 appearances for the English club.
Alexander Isak celebrates for Newcastle
Since the start of last season, the Sweden international has scored 25 goals across 40 Premier League outings, missing only 27 big chances throughout.
Aged 25, Isak has plenty of football still ahead of him, perhaps his brightest, most awe-inspiring days are still to come. With four goals from five recent matches under Howe's wing, he's found his feet after a slow start and will be the chief supplier of success, should it arrive, on Saturday.
However, Newcastle aren't quite purring this term, lacking some of that bite from previous years. Isak can't do it alone, and with Anthony Gordon failing to produce his best football at the moment, Howe must unleash Harvey Barnes from the outset.
He could be the perfect weapon against the Eagles backline, containing, of course, Marc Guehi.
Why Harvey Barnes must start at Selhurst Park
In August, Newcastle threw the kitchen sink at Steve Parish, whose transfer resolve - or perhaps obstinance - remained moveless. Four bids were lodged for Guehi, but the England centre-half was prevented from moving to Tyneside.
Marc-Guehi
Neither outfit have enjoyed the campaign that they had hoped for so far, but Guehi has still been a titanic presence in Glasner's backline, winning 63% of his duels and averaging a whopping 5.8 clearances per game, as per Sofascore.
He'll be tasked with subduing Isak, and that's why Barnes needs to start, providing the visitors with a varying attacking outlet to ensure that three points are claimed.
Newcastle duo Harvey Barnes and Jacob Murphy
Creativity isn't flowing as Howe would have hoped, with the 15 big chances created in the Premier League this season ranking Newcastle in joint-15th for that metric.
As such, a player of Barnes' clinical quality could be crucial. As per FBref, the English winger ranks among the top 1% of positional peers across Europe's top five leagues over the past year for non-penalty goals scored (0.62) per 90, highlighting the goalscoring edge that Newcastle so desperately need.
Harvey Barnes: Premier League Stats (19/20 - 24/25)
Season
2024/25
2023/24
2022/23
2021/22
2020/21
Stats via Transfermarkt
Such potency, four goals from only five Premier League starts in 2024/25, could see the Eagles downed and the Magpies take flight.
Guehi's gritty, no-nonsense defending makes him a tough adversary for any forward worth their salt, but Barnes is a "menace" - as he has been praised by journalist Mikey Stafford - and could prove too much for his countryman, whose mind will be focused on Isak and his ball-striking prowess.
Newcastle winger Harvey Barnes
Isak can't do it all himself, and while he had an off day against the Hammers last time out, he was let down by the profligacy and stuttered attacking labours of his teammates.
Barnes needs to play from the outset and be allowed to develop his relationship with the lively Lewis Hall down the left lane.
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