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

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

On Sunday, Eddie Howe's team suffered a heavy 3-1 defeat against struggling West Ham at London Stadium.

It was a result that left struggling away Newcastle sitting in the bottom half of the Premier League table.

To think this team 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 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 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 playing style and a method of play that works, that's highly successful," the Newcastle manager said.

"For whatever reason we have not been securing victories away from home that we should have.

"Now we're sort of caught 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 certainly made aware of it earlier this week.

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

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

"Sometimes you must have some uncomfortable conversations and the manager is quite good at doing that. He is always straightforward with what he says."

Burn, who went on to score first with a bullet header, always knew that Newcastle would bounce back against Athletic.

The hosts hardly needed any added motivation to contest a Champions League fixture 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 perform at our peak."

And outcomes certainly support that claim.

Newcastle have defeated 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% victory rate at St James' this season. That statistic 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 beaten Howe's side on Tyneside.

Each by a solitary strike.

Away-Day Blues

Yet 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 bottom of the table 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 clinical 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 fewer touches in the opposition box (110) and they have only had 50% fewer shots on target (13) on their travels, which underscores the challenges they have faced breaking teams down.

Newcastle could at least fall back 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 conceded five goals in just two matches versus Brighton and West Ham.

That defensive effort 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 something-housery."

Howe acknowledged his side "might require 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, most importantly, the attitude".

"It's about playing a game of football and delivering a good performance – no matter where we are playing," he said.

"Our sole method we can answer those questions is to play well and get the job done."