Newcastle United face Brentford at St. James' Park on Saturday at 3pm knowing a win and all three points is needed to continue the positive momentum generated by Eddie Howe's appointment as the first Head Coach of the new owners & Saudi-led consortium.

Former Bournemouth boss Howe was unveiled to the media last week after a 16-month hiatus from management after Bournemouth were relegated from the Premier League in the summer of 2020 after enjoying a five-year spell in the top flight that he had masterminded from the bottom of the Football League to regular football in England's top flight.

His first challenge is a familiar one - keeping his new club in The Premier League - and Howe takes charge of a Newcastle side who are 19th in the table having taken just five points with five draws from the opening 33 available and must dramatically arrest that form in the next three home games against Brentford, Norwich City and Burnley.

Newly-promoted Brentford are 14th in the table with 12 points from the first 11 games but are on a losing streak of four games after a good start to life in the Premier League that saw early wins over Arsenal, Wolves and West Ham and a draw against Liverpool.

Bees Manager Thomas Frank expects his side to bounce back to early-season good form & he insists he isn't worried about results due to the xG performance of his side after an unexpected home defeat at The Community Stadium by Norwich, saying:

“Throughout the 90 minutes we put a performance in that was more than enough to win this game,” Frank asserted. “We created an xG of almost 3, 19 shots, totally dominant in the second half. First half we could have been better but it wasn’t a bad one.”

Yet life in the real world at the sharp end of The Premier League doesn't always go according to plan and the statistics although Frank will take heart from a 1-0 victory against The Magpies in last season's Carabao Cup Quarter-Final:

Yet as well as a desperate fight of their own against the drop, Newcastle's players might have a degree of revenge on their minds as they played Brentford in the middle of their post-Covid outbreak slump last Winter when The Magpies only had one fit centre back available and were without talisman and game-changer Allan Saint-Maximum.

Indeed, Newcastle's number nine, Callum Wilson, who spoke in positive terms of the joy of being reunited with a manager who bought him for Bournemouth for Coventry and helped establish himself as a Premier League and England striker:

"It's been really good to be reunited.
"When somebody has helped you so much in your career and gave you the platform in the past to go out and showcase your talent and perform you are grateful...
"And I am sure there will be more success as there was with Bournemouth."

was asked whether Saturday would be a revenge mission for that Cup KO and said:

"Of course.
"I played in that game, the cup game.
"The manager rotated a lot of the squad that evening to give players an opportunity.
"It was a League Cup quarter-final and we had numerous chances to win it."

What formation Howe will play in his first match has been the subject of the majority of the debate on Tyneside leading up to the match and his first team-sheet as Head Coach is one of the most anticipated in a long time at St. James' Park

At Bournemouth, Howe favoured either a classic 4-4-2 formation or a 4-4-1-1 so it would be a surprise if he didn't kick off his Newcastle career with a similar attacking shape especially at home to Brentford, the type of team Newcastle need to beat at St James' Park to survive & for whom a 5th straight defeat would ramp up the pressure:

Record-signing Joelinton, who didn't start the Brentford Cup match either and was benched by Graeme Jones during his interim period in charge in the last three games, may be in line for a recall if Howe opts for the attacking 4-4-2 he played at Bournemouth with the Brazilian in the Joshua King role in the hole behind Callum Wilson.

Also in line for a recall is Ryan Fraser after Eddie Howe quickly put to rest any speculation he would have a problem with the Bournemouth contract rebel, who downed tools refusing to sign a new contract when The Cherries really needed him, when he revealed the pair had met for a coffee and made up their differences and looked forward to seeing a player he likes excelling in the black and white of Newcastle and rekindling his on-field strike partnership with Callum Wilson.

In his first pre-match press conference as Head Coach, Howe spoke of playing an attractive brand of football that the Newcastle fans will enjoy watching...

and, after confirming he had a full squad to choose from except from the injured Paul Dummett, had particular praise for Newcastle midfielder JonJo Shelvey:

and Howe revealed he was relishing his first game in charge of Newcastle United:

Opposite number Thomas Frank said about new Head Coach Eddie Howe:

and what he expects from Newcastle on Sunday:

Newcastle will have to be on the guard for the returning Ivan Toney with a point to prove but the feel-good factor restored by Howe's reunion will be too much for Brentford.

Prediction - Newcastle 3 Brentford 1

Potential Line-Ups: