Welcome to the Brentford v Newcastle preview.
Sunday 9th November – A 2pm kick-off.
Newcastle United travel to Brentford this remembrance Sunday, desperate for their first away win of the Premier League campaign.
The Toon have looked good in recent cup matches but have struggled for form in the league and it’s becoming increasingly important that we achieve some consistency by putting a run of wins together.
Another tedious international break next weekend means we won’t have the opportunity to right any wrongs until we host Man City in two weeks time, so three points this Sunday is vital.
Brentford will be looking to build on their decent home form having already beaten Liverpool and Man United at the GTech Community stadium and drawn with Chelsea. They too are struggling to put a run of form together but look so much better at home than on the road so far this season and may well prove to be dangerous opponents.
Form
In our last six league matches we’ve won two, lost three and drawn one. We’ve really struggled for consistency in the league and are yet to win away from home. The seven points gained in this sequence has us languishing in a disappointing thirteenth place. A win could see us in the top ten depending on results elsewhere but to really trouble the top four we need to put a run of results together and fast. We’ve scored seven goals and conceded eight in the last six games.
Brentford have won three and lost three of their past six matches and those nine points see them slightly ahead of United by just a point in the league. A win could have them in ninth place by the end of the weekend. They’ve scored and conceded nine goals in their last six league games.
Last time out
The Toon hosted our friends from Athletic Bilbao on Wednesday night and enjoyed a comfortable 2-0 victory. Joelinton had already had a goal disallowed before Dan Burn opened the scoring with a superb header after just eleven minutes. The technique from Burn was something special as he was able to curl the ball into the top corner. The Toon survived a scare when Bilbao hit the post twice in quick succession before half-time but were able to breathe a bit easier when Joelinton scored at the start of the second half to make it 2-0 and secure another three points for United in what is becoming a hugely successful champions league campaign.
Joelinton Goal Celebration Bruno Trippier Newcastle
Three wins from four matches and a plus eight goal difference has us in the top six of a thirty-six team league ahead of Liverpool, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Chelsea, Dortmund and Juventus, as we go toe-to-toe with the elite of Europe.
Brentford travelled to Crystal Palace last Saturday and slipped to a disappointing 2-0 defeat. 1-0 down at half-time, a poor performance was punished in the second half when an own goal confirmed the destination of the points. There was still time for Palace to hit the post on an afternoon that could have been so much worse for the Bees.
Stat attack!
-Four Premier League matches away at Brentford have seen three Newcastle wins and just the one defeat.
-The Toon have only travelled to Brentford on ten occasions since 1935 in all competitions.
-NUFC have found the net an astonishing ten times in their last four matches away at Brentford.
Memorable match
In February 2022. Eddie Howe was masterminding a complete turnaround in the fortunes of NUFC. Relegation certainties under Steve Bruce having not won any of our first fourteen league games, the Toon were now in the middle of a highly enjoyable nine-match unbeaten run. A fine away win got off to a dream start when Brentford were reduced to ten men after just eleven minutes. This led to sustained pressure from the black and whites who took the lead through a towering header from Joelinton. Joe Willock then broke free just before half-time and showed great composure to bury a right-footed effort into the top corner. This completed the scoring but the day belonged to Brentford midfielder Christian Eriksen who came on as a fifty second minute substitute. The hugely popular Dane had collapsed on the pitch when playing for Denmark in 2021 with a life-threatening condition and this marked his first appearance since such a traumatic experience. He was warmly applauded onto the pitch by Bees and Magpies fans and players alike on his emotional return to football. Brilliant stuff from the travelling Toon Army. Final score Brentford 0-2 Newcastle.
Played for both
Sir Les Ferdinand – a little known fact is that Toon royalty Sir Les played three times for Brentford on loan from Queens Park Rangers back in 1988. The legendary striker failed to find the net and returned to QPR before signing for NUFC in 1995. The rest, as they say, is history. Two years, fifty goals, two second place Premier League finishes and many happy memories. His sale to Tottenham in 1997 remains one of the worst footballing decisions of NUFC in living memory. He has subsequently revealed he never wanted to leave Newcastle but felt forced into the move due to Dalglish’s desire to play Shearer on his own up front in away games leaving Sir Les on the bench. On the day he was sold, Shearer suffered a career threatening injury and our 97/98 season was in tatters before it had even started, one of the darkest days in my time following the Toon.
Carl Cort showed early promise when signed by Sir Bobby in 2000. The England under-21 striker took just four minutes of his home debut to find the net with a powerful header. Unfortunately, his time at the Toon was plagued with injuries and we never really saw the best of him. His last strike in a black and white shirt was an absolute belter in a 6-2 win at home to Everton in 2002 but highlights during his time on Tyneside were few and far between. He played thirty-one matches for Brentford between 2009-2011 scoring six goals.
Ivan Toney arrived from Northampton as a 19 year old but struggled to break into the first team. After a number of loan moves, he signed permanently for Peterborough and then Brentford, scoring sixty-seven league goals for the Bees before moving to the Saudi Pro League in the summer of 2024.
Managers
Eddie Howe after a 2-0 Champions League win at home to Athletic Bilbao:
“Really pleased with today. It was an important response to West Ham. We had a quick turnaround for this game. I don’t think it was us at our best but we’re in a good position now in this competition. We learn a lot. This format is really good, more games but it’s a bigger test when you return to the Premier League It’s been good to have a game off the back of West Ham, we’ve put that away and we scored two goals.”
Dan Burn Goal Celebration Newcastle Athletic Club Bilbao
Keith Andrews after a 2-0 defeat away at Crystal Palace:
“If we’re really honest, we weren’t at our absolute best. This match was always going to be niggly, tight and edgy. Some of our quality wasn’t what it has been over the last few weeks. It was a game of very few chances – and they edged it. My players aren’t robots, they will make mistakes. There were elements of the first half that I wasn’t bowled over with. The players have been outstanding over the last few weeks. They tried to break them down but just didn’t have that little bit of magic.”
Charity
As it is an away match, Newcastle United fans will not be collecting opposite the Gallowgate end, for the food bank. However, you can still help out and all online cash donations are very much appreciated. For further info and/or to donate to the food bank online go HERE.
Prediction
This is an absolutely massive match! We have got to start winning away from home as the number of dropped points has the potential to derail any hope of Champions League qualification. Last weekend saw our worst performance of the season punished in a desperately disappointing 3-1 defeat at West Ham and that must be rectified on Sunday afternoon. Brentford are good at home and absolutely did a number on us last season, but in Eddie we trust and I think Toon will get three points from this one, just. The Toon will go one down but come back to win. Brentford 1-2 Newcastle