Twenty four games down, and Newcastle United‘s up and down season continues after a disappointing loss to Liverpool at Anfield.
Without a striker, until they signed two in the final days of the transfer window, the Magpies struggled to score in their opening six of encounters, drawing a blank at Bournemouth, after doing the same at Aston Villa and Leeds United, all three of which finished in 0-0 draws.
They did, somehow, in the chaos, manage to net twice against Liverpool, although a late 3-2 defeat, as we all know, ended any hopes of points on the day. And also did so v Barcelona, if late on.
Then, finally, Newcastle managed to scrape together a 1-0 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers, due in no small part to the goalscoring and line-leading exploits of debutant Nick Woltemade. The lads played out a bore draw at the Vitality Stadium, before actually netting four in the Carabao Cup win over Bradford City.
And finally, the Magpies threw away a one-goal lead v Arsenal at St James' Park, losing 2-1.
A midweek win in Brussels, which saw the Magpies cruise to a 4-0 over Union Saint-Gilloise, was then followed up by a solid 2-0 win over Nottingham Forest. But, almost as if returning to type, the Magpies let a late draw slip as Danny Welbeck netted twice to cancel out a Nick Woltemade equaliser at Brighton.
A run of three wins on the bounce then followed - v Benfica, Fulham and Spurs - before the inevitable crash down to earth with a 3-1 loss at West Ham United.
A midweek win over Athletic Club lifted spirits, but Brentford provided a whole different challenge - and despite it being a must-win game, the Magpies let another lead slip in a 3-1 defeat. The Man City miracle then ensued with Harvey Barnes the magician before a come back down to earth defeat in the south of France at Marseille.
It was then on to Merseyside where Malick Thiaw’s double made it back-to-back Premier League wins, and the Magpies’ first on the road since April. Nick Woltemade and Lewis Miley also got on the scoresheet.
Newcastle made it three unbeaten in the top flight, but it was very much two points dropped at the start of December as Cristian Romero twice levelled at St James’ Park after subs Bruno Guimaraes and Anthony Gordon had looked to have won it for United.
And it was four unbeaten as they squeezed past Burnley at SJP - Bruno and Gordon again on the scoresheet, as Yoane Wissa made his long-awaited debut.
A Champions League draw in Leverkusen was then followed by a derby day nightmare. Woltemade’s own goal proved the difference between the sides. It wasn’t redemption, but a Carabao Cup quarter final win over Fulham mended some wounds after the Sunderland loss, but while it was entertaining, a Chelsea draw on home turf was not the result anyone wanted.
Boxing Day came and went and while it was an improved performance against an under-strength, drained of confidence Man United, they again lost. Patrick Dorgu got the only goal.
Then an unconvincing win at Turf Moor restored some points and pride, but it was from the easy night many had hoped for as a late Bruno Guimaraes goal sealed a 3-1 victory.
Guimaraes was again on target as the Magpies beat Palace 2-0 at St James’ Park, with Malick Thiaw getting his second of the season to put the cherry on top.
The most chaotic week then ensued on Tyneside as a last minute Harvey Barnes winner saw them three times come from behind to beat Leeds 3-2, before a penalty shootout win over Bournemouth in the FA Cup, then the late heartbreak of losing a second goal to push another Wembley final even further out of reach in the Carabao Cup. Newcastle lost the first leg 2-0 to Man City in the semi final.
A boring, toothless show at Wolves then followed, leaving the Magpies in eighth in the top flight table.
And it was another blank for Newcastle on home turf as Villa came to Tyneside and left with three points for the first time in two decades.
Things didn’t get any better at Anfield either, as the Magpies lost 4-1. Hugo Ekitike (2), Florian Wirtz and Ibrahima Konate netted to cancel out Anthony Gordon’s opener.
With all that in mind, we asked AI tool Grok to predict what will happen in this season’s Premier League - and here’s what it predicted.
1. 2nd: Manchester City
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2. 3rd: Liverpool
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3. 4th: Aston Villa
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4. 5th: Chelsea
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