St James’ Park will host a mid-table match this weekend as Newcastle United welcome Crystal Palace, with just one point separating the sides as the second half of the season begins.
Newcastle enter the weekend sitting 13th with 26 points after 19 matches and amid endless inconsistency in league play. Eddie Howe’s side have shown enough offensive prowess to trouble most opponents, but defensive injuries and a lack of clean sheets have prevented them from building momentum.
Home form remains the Magpies’
biggest trait, as Newcastle has earned the majority of their points through 2025 playing at St James’ Park.
Crystal Palace, meanwhile, arrive 10th but with just one more point—27 overall—having carved out a reputation as a difficult team to break down but also one struggling to find the back of opposing nets.
Oliver Glasner’s side boasts one of the strongest defensive records in the league, particularly away from home. Much of the Eagles’ attacking output has lacked punch, with narrow scorelines the usual outcome in their games.
Newcastle are dealing with a defensive injury crunch, though there is optimism around potential returns at full-back, while Palace travel north with a depleted squad due to injuries and AFCON absences, leaving them stretched in midfield and defence.
Here are some of Howe’s Wisdom Nuggets, courtesy of NUFC.co.uk
On Hall’s fitness…
“He should be OK. We’ll have a closer look at him today.
“He’s an important player for us. He’s technically excellent – an attacking, front-foot defender and he’s only going to get better the more games he plays.
“Fitness-wise, he’s getting his very best form back. He’s a real talent and we need to try and keep him on the pitch.”
On other defensive news…
“We’ve got a couple of training days but Tino Livramento and Kieran Trippier have worked really well. They’ve had a couple of recovery periods so they’re both close. Emil Krafth is further back.”
On Botman and Elanga…
“They’re both very close. Sven’s been training with the group which has been great, so I envisage him being in and around this game. Anthony hasn’t trained with us yet but is very close to doing so.”
On Crystal Palace…
“It will be a difficult game. Their away form is very good, they’re a very good defensive team – solid, tough to score against and they’ve got good attackers the other way as well.
“They’re a team we won’t underestimate, but it’s a game we can do well in if we play to our best levels.”
On his side’s fixture schedule…
“This is going to be a season-defining month for us with very minimal rest between games.
“You look at the month as a whole and it has some great games for us – some really mouthwatering occasions – but we’ve got some tough challenges ahead and certainly the start of the month has to be a fruitful one.”
On the win at Burnley last time out…
“There was a period of 10, 15 minutes where we were turning the ball over a little bit too much, and that gave them confidence and belief to come back into the game. That’s frustrating from our perspective, having got a two goal lead after ten minutes, I expected us to go on and consolidate in that moment.
“We have our themes and areas that we’re focusing on and trying to implement at the moment that will make us stronger and better.”
Howay!
- Date: Sunday, January 4th
- Kick-off: 15:00 BST / 10:00 EST
- Location: St. James’ Park, Newcastle (England)
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