WEDNESDAY NIGHT LIGHTS: IN-FORM NEWCASTLE HOST RESURGENT PALACE

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Newcastle United v Crystal Palace April 16, 2025

St. James' Park prepares for a midweek Premier League clash that promises goals and attacking football as high-flying Newcastle United welcome a Crystal Palace side enjoying their best scoring run in decades.

Eddie Howe's Newcastle have been one of the Premier League's form teams since mid-December, winning more games in all competitions (18 in 23 matches) than any other side in the division. Their goal-scoring prowess has been particularly impressive, with 53 goals in that period bettered only by title-chasing Liverpool (61) and Manchester City (58).

The Magpies have transformed St. James' Park into a fortress for midweek encounters, losing just one of their last 12 Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday home games in the Premier League. On Wednesdays specifically, Newcastle have won five of their last six home matches, drawing the other.

"Our home form has been the foundation of our recent success," said Newcastle manager Eddie Howe. "The atmosphere at St. James' Park for these evening games has been electric, and we'll need that support against a dangerous Palace side."

Despite Newcastle's impressive run, Crystal Palace will travel to Tyneside with confidence. The Eagles have found the net in each of their last 13 Premier League matches – their longest scoring streak in over 30 years. Only twice in their top-flight history have they scored in 14 consecutive games, doing so between August and November 1979 and May and October 1991.

The head-to-head record makes for interesting reading. Newcastle have kept a clean sheet in six of their last eight Premier League home games against Crystal Palace, including each of the last three. However, Palace have proven difficult for the Magpies to beat recently, with Newcastle winning just one of the last seven Premier League encounters between the sides.

The reverse fixture at Selhurst Park in November produced one of the season's statistical anomalies. Newcastle managed a 1-1 draw despite recording just a single shot in the entire match, with their goal coming courtesy of a Marc Guéhi own goal. It was only the eighth instance on record (since 2003-04) of a team having one or fewer shots in a Premier League match and avoiding defeat.

Individual form could prove decisive in this encounter. Newcastle's Harvey Barnes has been involved in nine goals in his last 11 Premier League starts (7 goals, 2 assists), including at least one goal contribution in each of his last five appearances (4 goals, 2 assists).

His teammate Jacob Murphy has also been in sensational form, with seven goals and eight assists in his last 17 Premier League appearances. With 10 open-play assists overall in 2024-25, Murphy has provided the most for Newcastle since Laurent Robert's 11 in the 2001-02 season.

For the visitors, the creative spark continues to come from Eberechi Eze, who has contributed to eight goals in his last 11 Premier League starts (2 goals, 6 assists). The England international has been particularly trigger-happy this season, registering 89 shots – the most by a Palace player in a single campaign since Christian Benteke's 105 in 2016-17.

One man with mixed feelings about this fixture is Newcastle manager Eddie Howe. In his managerial career, he has won just five of his 21 games against Crystal Palace in all competitions (9 draws, 7 losses), a win rate of only 24%. Among all sides he has faced more than 10 times as a manager, only Manchester City, Liverpool, and Watford have given him more trouble.

As both teams continue their push for European qualification, Wednesday's clash under the St. James' Park floodlights has all the ingredients for an entertaining Premier League encounter.

We thank OPTA for providing the statistical data. Photo: source XYZ


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