Stuck in a Rut - Newcastle Need to Overcome Their Away-Day Struggles

Should there be a short span that encapsulated Newcastle United's curious season.

This past weekend, Eddie Howe's team endured a heavy 3-1 defeat against lowly West Ham at London Stadium.

That outcome that left travel-sick Newcastle languishing in the bottom half of the Premier League table.

Consider this side went on to leapfrog Real Madrid into sixth place in the Champions League rankings following a 2-0 win against Athletic Club at St James' Park just days later.

It was their fifth consecutive home victory, but that was not cause for celebration for Howe.

The upcoming visit to Brentford was not far from his mind as Newcastle aim to finally address their road struggles after not securing a victory on the road in the league since April.

"It's hugely frustrating because I think we have a style of play and a method of play that is effective, that's really effective," the Newcastle head coach said.

"Somehow we have not been winning the games away from home that we ought to have.

"We find ourselves stuck in that cycle where it's turning into an issue of conversation and we're probably becoming more aware of it."

Home Comforts at 'Safe' St James'

Newcastle's players were definitely reminded of it earlier this week.

They had nowhere for the team to hide as they were put through what defender Dan Burn described as a "deeply uncomfortable" review meeting in the days after the West Ham defeat.

"It was clear how far off we were from what we demand from ourselves," Burn said. "But that's the best way to learn.

"Sometimes you must have some tough talks and the coach is quite good at doing that. He is always straightforward with what he says."

Burn, who went on to score first with a powerful header, always knew that Newcastle would respond against Athletic.

The home side hardly needed any extra incentive to contest a Champions League match under the lights at St James'.

In his matchday notes, ahead of the game, captain Bruno Guimaraes even wrote that the stadium was a "safe place for us where we know we play our best football."

And results certainly back those words up.

Newcastle have beaten Athletic, Tottenham, Fulham, Benfica and Nottingham Forest by an combined score of 11-1 on home soil in the last month alone.

They have a 70% victory rate at St James' this season. That statistic should be even better - late concessions proved damaging against Arsenal and Liverpool – but these respective title challengers and Barcelona are the only teams to have defeated Howe's side on Tyneside.

Each by a solitary strike.

Away-Day Blues

However it has been a completely different tale away from home.

Newcastle have only won four league games on their away trips in 2025 and they have looked lacking sharpness of late.

Howe's side have scored a quarter as many goals (two) away as they have at home in the league (eight), and bottom of the table Wolves are the only side to have scored less (one) on the road.

Jacob Murphy's first goal against West Ham was a uncommon instance of this side being clinical away from home in the league – just 26 seconds after Hammers captain Jarrod Bowen had hit the woodwork.

Though Newcastle have had more ball control away (56%) than at home (47.1%), according to Opta, Howe's team have had 30 less contact in the opposition box (110) and they have only had half as many shots on target (13) on their travels, which highlights the difficulties they have faced breaking teams down.

Newcastle could at least rely on their defensive strength as a base to build from earlier in the campaign following shutouts against Aston Villa, Leeds United and Bournemouth in their opening three away games of the season.

But the away side have since leaked five goals in just two matches versus Brighton and West Ham.

That backline work starts with the press from the front, but Newcastle have won the ball on eight less times (16) away than at home (24), while highly-praised midfield trio Sandro Tonali, Joelinton and Guimaraes have been repeatedly bypassed on the road in recent weeks.

Burn has spoken of the need to "adopt a grittier approach", referencing how his side were "renowned a few years ago for physical play."

Howe recognised his side "possibly need a bit of that" ahead of Sunday's trip to the Gtech Community Stadium as he called on his players to bring the "skill, execution and, above all, the attitude".

"It comes down to playing a game of football and delivering a good performance – no matter where we are playing," he said.

"The only way we can address those doubts is to play well and actually do the business."