Caught in a Trap - Newcastle Need to Overcome Their Away-Day Struggles

If ever a four-day period that encapsulated Newcastle United's curious season.

This past weekend, Eddie Howe's squad suffered a bruising 3-1 defeat against lowly West Ham at London Stadium.

That outcome that left struggling away Newcastle languishing in the bottom half of the Premier League table.

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

It was their fifth straight 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 at last tackle their away-day woes after not securing a victory on the road in the league since April.

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

"Somehow we have not been securing victories away from home that we ought to have.

"We find ourselves stuck in that cycle where it's becoming a topic of conversation and we're likely growing more aware of it."

Home Strengths at 'Secure' St James'

Newcastle's players were certainly made aware of it earlier this week.

There was no place for the team to hide as they were put through what defender Dan Burn described as a "very painful" analysis session in the days after the West Ham defeat.

"We saw 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 uncomfortable conversations and the manager is skilled at doing that. He is always straightforward with what he says."

Burn, who went on to open the scoring with a bullet header, always knew that Newcastle would respond against Athletic.

The hosts hardly needed any extra incentive to play in 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 support that claim.

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

They have a 70% win rate at St James' this season. That record should be even better - late concessions proved costly against Arsenal and Liverpool – but these top contenders and Barcelona are the only teams to have beaten Howe's side on Tyneside.

Each by a solitary strike.

Travel Troubles

Yet it has been a very different story away from home.

Newcastle have only won four matches on their away trips in 2025 and they have looked especially blunt of late.

Howe's side have scored a mere fraction of the goals (two) away as they have at home in the league (eight), and last-placed Wolves are the only side to have netted fewer (one) on the road.

Jacob Murphy's opener against West Ham was a uncommon instance of this side being ruthless 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 enemy area (110) and they have only had half as many shots on target (13) on their travels, which highlights the challenges they have faced breaking teams down.

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

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

That backline work starts with the forward pressure, but Newcastle have won possession back on eight fewer occasions (16) away than at home (24), while much-lauded midfield trio Sandro Tonali, Joelinton and Guimaraes have been repeatedly bypassed on the road in recent weeks.

Burn has spoken of the need to "be a bit more ugly", 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, most importantly, the attitude".

"It's about playing a game of football and producing a good performance – regardless of where we are playing," he said.

"The only way we can answer those questions is to play well and get the job done."