Newcastle United have been defeated nine times this season and seven of those losses were at St. James’ Park.
Newcastle United have been dreadful at St. James’ Park this season as seven of their nine losses occurred on Tyneside. The Magpies have not necessarily played horrible football at home, but they have failed to secure more than six points in front of their home supporters.
For a team competing in a relegation battle, it only makes logical sense that Newcastle would be doing all they can to win at home, but instead they have racked up more points on the road this season. Regardless of what happened in previous matches, Newcastle must use this lenient matchup against 20th-placed Fulham to reverse their negative form at St. James’ Park.
Supporters Deserve Better
The Magpies have been competitive, unlucky and awful at home this season. Yes, some losses against title contenders are easier to swallow, but being shut out at home to teams like Leicester City, Brighton and West Ham is simply unacceptable. No disrespect to those three teams as they are playing great football at the moment, but Newcastle should have played much better against them at home.
That being said, Newcastle have surprised supporters and pundits with two victories against Watford (1-0) and Bournemouth (2-1) – two teams that were in the top seven at the time. With just over 52,000 fans fervently supporting the club, there is no reason why Newcastle cannot turn things around.
Fulham comes to town at the perfect time as Newcastle are coming off a much-needed victory against Huddersfield Town and the Magpies should be full of confidence. The Cottagers are sitting rock bottom in the league table with nine points, in large part because of their weak back-line that has conceded 42 goals in 17 matches.
Newcastle are undoubtedly the favorites to win and it would be a major disappointment if the Magpies dropped points in such a winnable match. Christian Atsu recently told the Chronicle that the Toon Army deserves to enjoy more positive results at home and there is no better chance to secure three points than on Saturday. Newcastle’s supporters deserve to celebrate a victory and they should rejoice at the fact that their team could potentially go seven points clear of the relegation zone.