We aim to catch the league leaders in Saturday’s early kick-off at Newcastle United (12.30pm), with both teams seeking a return to winning ways in the Premier League.
While ourselves and our opponents comfortably made it through to the last eight of the League Cup on Wednesday night, both Mikel Arteta and Eddie Howe will be craving the taste of three points again after a difficult couple of weeks at either end of the country.
History shows that we have won 35 Premier League games against Newcastle, the most the Magpies have lost to a single opponent in the competition. A 36th would be the perfect way to kick-start a huge week with Inter Milan and Chelsea looming on the horizon.
Tough times on Tyneside
Despite a bright start that saw them unbeaten in their opening four games, Eddie Howe’s team are winless in their five Premier League matches since, losing to Brighton & Hove Albion and Chelsea in the past fortnight to leave them 12th in the table.
An opening day win against Southampton, success over Tottenham Hotspur and a 1-1 draw against Manchester City had seen them stretch their unbeaten home league run to 10 games, but a 1-0 loss to the Seagulls ended that as they also failed to score on their own patch for the first time in 23 league games.
However, some cheer came in midweek as they gained swift revenge against Chelsea by dumping them out of the League Cup with a 2-0 victory at St James’ Park, setting up a home quarter-final against Brentford.
What the managers say
Arteta on Newcastle: “The league position after nine games is very tricky when you see the fixtures that they’ve had and certain situations that they’ve been through as well, but they’re a fantastic team.
“They’re really well coached, they’re very intense. It’s a great stadium to play in, you know what you’re going to face there, so we’re looking forward to it.”
