Newcastle United vs. Burnley: 2023/24 Premier League gameweek 7 match preview

The games just keep on coming as Vincent Kompany brings his winless Burnley side to St. James' Park on Saturday afternoon for a traditional 3 p.m. kick-off. A rare beast these days!

Following the tremendous 1-0 win over Manchester City in midweek and the 8-0 demolition of Sheffield United last Sunday, Eddie Howe is seeking to lead his side to three wins and three clean sheets in a week.

Having rested all of his outfield players from the start against Pep Guardiola's side—only Nick Pope retained his place from Bramall Lane—the head coach is expected to make another 10 changes here.

We'll tell you exactly who'll be coming back into the side, get you up to speed on all of the latest injury and illness news, share our thoughts on what the final score will be, and more in our seventh pre-match preview of the 2023/24 Premier League campaign.

Team News

Newcastle United

Callum Wilson (hamstring) and Sven Botman (knee) should be fine to start having been completely rested for the midweek victory over the Citizens, though Howe was typically coy about their fitness in his pre-match press conference on Friday morning.

Dan Burn (illness) and Bruno Guimaraes (ankle) should also be fine to return to the eleven, while Alexander Isak (calf) was brought off as a precaution on Wednesday evening but said himself that he was fine in his post-match interview with Dan King on NUFC TV.

Joe Willock (achilles) remains out for a few more weeks, but Emil Krafth (knee) is set to feature for the U21s against Nottingham Forest in Premier League 2 this evening. That'll be the Swede's first taste of action since the 2-1 League Cup win at Tranmere 13 months ago.

Martin Dúbravka (illness) was not involved against City but is likely to return to the bench, though the prognosis on Harvey Barnes (foot) isn't quite so positive. Howe confirmed that the winger is set to miss three months of action when speaking to the media this morning.

Burnley

The visitors are definitely without Benson Manuel (ankle), Vitinho (knee), Nathan Redmond (unknown), Hjalmar Ekdal (knee), Dark Churlinov (blood poisoning), Michael Obafemi (hamstring), and Lyle Foster (suspension).

Jóhann Berg Guðmundsson (calf) is a doubt but will undergo a late fitness test. He's currently rated 50/50 to take part.

Predicted Lineups

It should be the usual 4-3-3 for the Magpies, with all of the players who were rested in midweek returning to the starting eleven as Howe carefully manages his squad's load during a very heavy run of fixtures.

The biggest decision for the head coach is which two of Joelinton, Elliot Anderson, and Miguel Almirón to go with in midfield and attack. Given the Brazilian is only just back from a knee injury, he could well miss out, but we'd expect him to start against PSG on Wednesday.

Newcastle United (4-3-3)

Starting XI: Pope; Trippier (c), Schär, Botman, Burn; Longstaff, Guimarães, Anderson; Almirón, Wilson, Gordon

Substitutes: Dúbravka; Livramento, Lascelles, Targett; Tonali, Joelinton, Hall; Murphy, Isak

Kompany will probably stick with the 4-2-3-1 that got his side a point at the City Ground a couple of weeks ago, having fielded a 4-3-3 in last weekend's home loss to Manchester United.

Burnley (4-2-3-1)

Starting XI: Trafford; Roberts, Al-Dakhil, Beyer, Taylor; Cullen, Brownhill (c); Koleosho, Ramsey, Zaroury; Amdouni

Substitutes: Muric; Delcroix; Cork, Berge, Guðmundsson, Bruun Larsen, Trésor, Odobert; Rodríguez

Manager Quotes

Here's everything Howe said about Burnley in his Friday morning press conference:

"They're very different (to Sean Dyche's Burnley), and there's no right or wrong of course, you can do it in loads of different ways. I think they will always stick, from what I see, to their current model of play.

I've got say they were hugely impressive last year - the goals that they scored, the games they won and the style they did it in was great to watch. We played Burnley last pre-season and we had two really good games with two different 11s. I got to speak to Vincent after the game, and his staff. What they did following that game was a credit to them.

It's great to see Burnley doing well, it's great to see them back in the Premier League. It will be a very different to previous Burnley teams, who were very effective in a different way, but they're going to want the ball and we're going to want the ball, so it's going to be a really big challenge for us and one we can hopefully rise to.

It's totally different to last year, where we were able to go week-to-week and train intensely and really prepare thoroughly for each game. Now, we're still trying to prepare thoroughly, but in a much more condensed time, which is a challenge. The challenge for the players is to recover physically and mentally for each game."

Kompany spoke to the media on Thursday, saying the following about the trip to St. James':

"Newcastle is a big test if I’m honest. I’d always put it on the calendar as a big test.

It’s difficult to predict because of the threats and the weapons they have, but there is something there for us in terms of having a good performance and hopefully a result as well.

There are not many harder away grounds that are harder than that ground. I’m really interested in seeing where the team is against that level away from home.

It’s something I’m looking forward to. If you play well at St James’, it’s not just about playing well, we want the result like every other game. It’s not arrogant to say that, why else are you in the Premier League?

But a performance at St James’ Park should give you the feeling that you can perform everywhere in this league.

That’s what you’re in the game for. For every tough opponent, every team of that calibre, there is a small opportunity to do something special and that you’ll be remembered for.

There is a list of areas where they are strong, they’ve built the squad very well. The manager gets them to play in a way that makes them vulnerable to very few things."

Match Officials

Thomas Bramall of Manchester is in the middle, with Simon Bennett and Dan Robathan running the lines.

Matt Donohue is on fourth official duty, while Jarred Gillett is the VAR and will be supported by Scott Ledger.

Travel News

There are no Metro closures this weekend, but there's no lift access at Monument. You'll have to head to Central Station, Haymarket, or St. James' Park if you can't use escalators.

There is disruption on the trains elsewhere, however, with all of the information on the latest strike action available here.

On the roads, the X50 bus (football service) will be running from the Metro Centre, while the usual road closures around the ground will be in place from an hour prior to kick-off until half an hour after the final whistle.

Broadcast Information

This is the first game of the season that isn't being broadcast on television in the UK and Ireland. It is available overseas in many territories, though. Information can be found on LiveSoccerTV.

There's also no national radio broadcast for this one, though it will be live on BBC Radio Newcastle as usual and also on Radio Tyneside in local hospitals.

Relevant Statistics

Here's the full head-to-head record between Newcastle and Burnley:

Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	For	Against
111	46	22	43	166	150

The Magpies have won 41% of meetings, with Burnley winning 39%, and the remaining 20% being draws.

We're unbeaten in the last 10 competitive games at St. James' Park against the Clarets, winning five and drawing five. In our last meeting up herein the 2021/22 campaign, we won 1-0 thanks to a Callum Wilson goal. Two more goals from our number nine relegated Burnley in May of that season in a 2-1 win at Turf Moor.

Predicted Score

We can't see another 8-0, unfortunately, but we wouldn't rule out a third win in a row and a fifth consecutive clean sheet. Let's go for 3-0 to the Magpies, with at least one more goal from the on-fire Wilson contributing to the victory.

		P	GD	Pts
7	MCI	0	0	0
8	MUN	0	0	0
9	NEW	0	0	0
10	TOT	0	0	0
11	WHU	0	0	0