After accumulating 10 points from four Premier League matches, Newcastle were in buoyant mood heading into Wednesday’s meeting with Crystal Palace and Eddie Howe’s side had 11 days to rest and recover for the contest at Selhurst Park.
However, the Magpies lacked a cutting edge in the final third and were condemned to their 10th away league defeat of the season, with Jean-Philippe Mateta netting a second-half brace to seal a 2-0 victory for the Eagles.
links >> Stream 1 HD Stream 2 HD Stream 3 HD Stream 4 HD
Newcastle have subsequently slipped to seventh in the Premier League table, two points above eighth-placed West Ham United, who have played a game more, and three points behind sixth-placed Manchester United, who beat the Magpies’ next opponents Sheffield United 4-2 at Old Trafford in midweek.
Still firmly in the mix to secure Europa League football for next season, Newcastle have two favourable-looking fixtures on the horizon against the Premier League’s bottom-two clubs Sheffield United and Burnley; the Magpies ran riot in an 8-0 demolition of the Blades in the reverse fixture at Bramall Lane in September last year.
Newcastle will welcome a return to St James’ Park where they have won three and drawn one of their last four league matches, scoring 12 goals in the process, while they have not lost any of their eight top-flight home games against promoted sides since Howe’s appointment in November 2021, so there is reason for the Magpies to be optimistic of success on Saturday.
In a season full of doom and gloom, Sheffield United’s spirited display in Wednesday’s encounter at Manchester United represented one of their high points, even though they came away on the wrong end of a 4-2 scoreline.
links >> Stream 1 HD Stream 2 HD Stream 3 HD Stream 4 HD
Sheffield United have now conceded 92 goals in 34 Premier League matches this term, surpassing the previous record for a 38-game season held by Derby County (89) during their infamous 2007-08 campaign, and a run of 10 games without a win has put them on the brink of relegation back to the Championship.
Sitting rock bottom and 10 points adrift of safety, Sheffield United will be relegated from the Premier League if they fail to beat Newcastle on Saturday. Even if they were to draw or win against the Magpies, their fate will be sealed if 17th-placed Nottingham Forest match or better their result when they host Manchester City on Sunday.
Although Sheffield United are not mathematically down just yet, Wilder has acknowledged “the inevitable will happen” and that his side “just have pride to play for” in their remaining four fixtures as a top-flight club. Only once have the Blades celebrated a Premier League away victory against Newcastle – Danny Webber scored the only goal in a 1-0 win back in November 2006 under former boss Neil Warnock
