Caught in a Trap - The Magpies Must Overcome Their Away-Day Blues

Should there be a short span that summed up Newcastle United's puzzling season.

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

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

To think this side went on to leapfrog Real Madrid into the sixth spot 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 reason to rejoice for Howe.

Sunday's trip to Brentford was not far from his mind as Newcastle look to finally address their away-day woes after not securing a victory on the road in the league since April.

"It's hugely frustrating because I think we have a playing style and a game plan that works, that's really effective," the Newcastle manager said.

"For whatever reason 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 'Safe' St James'

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

They had nowhere for the team to hide as they were put through what back Dan Burn described as a "deeply uncomfortable" 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 coach 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 bounce back 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, skipper Bruno Guimaraes even wrote that the stadium was a "secure environment for us where we know we play our best football."

And outcomes certainly support that claim.

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

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

Each by a solitary strike.

Travel Troubles

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

Newcastle have only won four matches on their travels 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 scored less (one) on the road.

Jacob Murphy's first goal 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 struck the post.

Though Newcastle have had more possession 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 50% fewer shots on target (13) on their travels, which highlights the difficulties they have faced breaking teams down.

Newcastle could at least fall back on their defensive strength as a foundation earlier in the campaign following clean sheets against Aston Villa, Leeds United and Bournemouth in their first three road matches of the season.

But the away side have since conceded 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 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 "be a bit more ugly", referencing how his side were "renowned a few years ago for physical play."

Howe acknowledged 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 "quality, execution and, above all, the mindset".

"It comes down to playing a game of football and delivering 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."