Newcastle United will be looking to keep their Premier League top four charge going when they host Fulham at St James’ Park on Saturday 1st February at 3pm. The Magpies have taken 41 points from 23 games in the league and, at the time of writing, sit fifth in that table. Fulham, meanwhile, are down in 10th but are only eight points outside the top four.
Alexander Isak to Score (10/11 with Paddy Power)
It may seem an obvious selection but for my main play of the afternoon I’m backing Alexander Isak to get on the scoresheet. Paddy Power go 10/11 that the Swedish international finds the net, with other firms such as William Hill taking a much more conservative approach at 8/13.
Since the start of December, Newcastle striker Isak has scored more Premier League goals than any other player (13), also outscoring six different teams in that time. Isak is now second in Newcastle’s leading Premier League scorers (48 goals), behind Alan Shearer on 148, while he needs one goal to become the leading Swedish scorer; he is level with Freddie Ljungberg currently.
Jacob Murphy Anytime Assist (4/1 with Paddy Power)
Jacob Murphy is enjoying a fantastic campaign in the North East and only three players in the entire league have provided more assists this season. In total, the 29-year-old has eight assist in total.
He has also assisted six of Alexander Isak’s Premier League goals this season, the most assists from one player to another this campaign. It is also the joint most assists by a Newcastle player for a teammate in one season; others on six are Nolberto Solano for Alan Shearer in 1999-00, Laurent Robert for Shearer in 2001-02 and Salomon Rondon for Ayoze Perez in 2018-19.
How both teams go into Newcastle vs Fulham
Newcastle may have seen their winning run come to an end against Bournemouth two weeks ago, but the Magpies are still in a very good position in the top four race. Eddie Howe’s side trail fourth-placed Manchester City on goal difference alone. And that was only down to Man City’s heavy win over Ipswich Town. Of course, fifth could also be enough to secure Champions League football should English teams continue to do well in Europe. But Newcastle will want to be certain by finishing on the top four.
Fulham can’t be counted out of the European race either. Although they do sit 10th, things are incredibly close in the top half of the table. The Cottagers also recently brought a winless run to an end with victory over relegation-battling Leicester City. They were then beaten at home by Manchester United, but Marco Silva’s men have also been pretty impressive on the road of late, losing just one of their past seven away league games. This includes draws at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and Anfield, and a win at Stamford Bridge.
Newcastle team news
Newcastle will remain without Harvey Barnes, Jamaal Lascelles and Callum Wilson for this game.
Fulham team news
Reiss Nelson, Kenny Tete are both out, while Marco Silva has confirmed that Harry Wilson will be out for around 10 weeks with a fractured foot.
Newcastle vs Fulham head-to-head
Fulham’s 3-1 win at Craven Cottage earlier this season ending a six-game winning run for Newcastle in this fixture. Newcastle are still unbeaten in their past four home league games against Fulham.
| Newcastle vs Fulham H2H | |||||||
| Date | Score | Ground | |||||
| 21/09/24 | Fulham 3-1 Newcastle | Craven Cottage, London | |||||
| 06/04/24 | Fulham 0-1 Newcastle | Craven Cottage, London | |||||
| 27/01/24 | Fulham 0-2 Newcastle | Craven Cottage, London | |||||
| 16/12/23 | Newcastle 3-0 Fulham | St James’ Park, Newcastle | |||||
| 15/01/23 | Newcastle 1-0 Fulham | St James’ Park, Newcastle | |||||