Following respective setbacks in their pursuits of Champions League football, Newcastle United and Nottingham Forest have some mistakes to rectify in Sunday's fascinating Premier League tussle at St James' Park.
The Magpies were no match for Manchester City in last weekend's 4-0 crushing at the hands of the champions, while the Tricky Trees' title dream is evaporating after their 2-1 defeat to Fulham.
Match preview
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Earning another shot at EFL Cup glory in next month's final with Liverpool and progressing to the fifth round of the FA Cup appears to have come at a cost league-wise for Newcastle, who have now come out second best in three of their last four games in the top flight.
Furthermore, the only Premier League win that Eddie Howe masterminded in that time came against basement boys Southampton, as Man City followed in Bournemouth and Fulham's footsteps by putting another dent in the Magpies' top-four aspirations.
On a day where the battle between Erling Haaland and Alexander Isak for striker supremacy was expected to dominate the headlines, Citizens new boy Omar Marmoush instead stole the spotlight with a sensational hat-trick, before James McAtee made the scoreline that bit more emphatic.
Nevertheless, the seventh-placed Magpies - who may drop down to ninth by the time Sunday's game rolls around - will at least be within touching distance of the Champions League spots with victory over Forest, against whom they will seek to snap a two-game losing home run in the Premier League.
Not since the pre-takeover days of Steve Bruce have Newcastle been defeated in three successive top-flight home matches - last suffering such a run in February 2021 - while Howe has to go back to his Bournemouth stint for the last time he oversaw an identical run of losses, all the way back in December 2019.
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Sharing the same fate as their hosts against Fulham, Nottingham Forest's already-thin hopes of usurping Liverpool at the summit of the standings suffered another damaging blow at Craven Cottage, where Chris Wood's 18th goal of the top-flight campaign was in vain.
The New Zealand international's strike came either side of headers from Emile Smith Rowe and Calvin Bassey as Nuno Espirito Santo's men slumped to their second straight away loss in the Premier League, albeit one nowhere near as chastening as their 5-0 pummelling at the hands of Bournemouth.
Nevertheless, the Garibaldi's Champions League fate remains in their own hands as they occupy third place in the top-flight table and are guaranteed to still be sitting in the top four by the close of play in gameweek 26, where Santo bids to avoid a personal Forest first.
The Portuguese is yet to lose three consecutive Premier League away games as Tricky Trees manager - the visitors have not been beaten in three in a row on the road since Steve Cooper was at the helm in December 2023 - and Forest's memories of their last visit to St James' Park could hardly be fonder.
Indeed, ex-Magpies marksman Wood bagged a memorable hat-trick in a 3-1 success for Forest at St James' Park on Boxing Day 2023, but Newcastle have since prevailed in three on the spin, coming away from the City Ground with a 3-1 triumph in November 2024.
Team News
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Newcastle may have been left battered and bruised from their beating at the hands of City, but no Magpies players picked up any fresh injuries, meaning that Howe only ought to be missing three players at most this weekend.
Joelinton, Jamaal Lascelles and Sven Botman are all working their way back from knee injuries, and while the latter's concern is not severe, Howe has confirmed that he does not expect him to be available for this one
It is no surprise to see Howe exercise caution over the 25-year-old given his recent history of knee problems, and despite now drawing a blank in two straight games, Isak has netted in each of his three appearances against Forest.
The Tricky Trees are also in relatively good nick ahead of their journey to St James' Park, having welcomed Callum Hudson-Odoi back from a knock as a second-half substitute in their loss at Craven Cottage.
The ex-Chelsea man's return should see Santo revert to his tried-and-tested 4-2-3-1 shape as opposed to starting with three centre-backs, meaning that Morato should be sacrificed as Hudson-Odoi links arms with Wood, Anthony Elanga and Morgan Gibbs-White up front.
As Taiwo Awoniyi has completed concussion protocol, towering goalkeeper Carlos Miguel (hamstring) are sidelined for Forest, whose number one Matz Sels is still leading the Premier League's Golden Glove race with 10 clean sheets.
Newcastle United possible starting lineup:
Dubravka; Livramento, Schar, Burn, Hall; Guimaraes, Tonali, Longstaff; Murphy, Isak, Gordon
Nottingham Forest possible starting lineup:
Sels; Aina, Milenkovic, Murillo, Williams; Danilo, Anderson; Elanga, Gibbs-White, Hudson-Odoi; Wood
We say: Newcastle United 1-1 Nottingham Forest
Confidence is not exactly sky-high in either camp right now, but with lethal marksmen at both ends of the field, neither goalkeeper should go home without having picked the ball out of the back of the net.
Forest conceding first normally spells danger - they have lost five of their six Premier League games this season where they have gone 1-0 down - but even if Newcastle can break the deadlock on Sunday, Howe's team may have to settle for a point.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Ben Knapton
