By
Sophie Brown
BBC Sport journalist
- Published12 minutes ago
It was a sticky start to the season for Fulham but there are signs that they are settling into the more expansive style of play brought in by new head coach Alvaro Arbeloa.
After picking up just two points in their first six Premier League matches of the season, Fulham have now taken seven points from their past three.
They conceded 10 goals in those first six games, but just one in the past three.
AgainstAston Villalast weekend, Fulham had almost double the number of touches in the opposition box and completed over 100 more passes than their opponents, and Arbeloa said after the match that "we are a team that want to play in the opposite half with the ball, creating chances."
Fulham are currently below Newcastle in the table but given the respective levels of form of the two sides. it would be no surprise to see that reversed on Saturday.
After losing a division-high seventh home league match of 2026, it will perhaps be something of a relief for Newcastle to get back on the road.
Booed off after a dismal showing in defeat byEvertonon Monday, which was capped by a red card for midfielder Jacob Ramsey, the Magpies need to address the problems that face them at both ends of the pitch.
OnlyCrystal Palacehave faced more shots in the Premier League this season than Newcastle, whose average of 17.1 shots faced per game is currently their most in a season on record since 2003-04.
Meanwhile, only Aston Villa have had fewer shots on target than Newcastle's 29 shots. Only two of the Magpies' 17 shots against Everton were on target, with their percentage of shots on target sitting at 25.7% (29/113), the third lowest in the Premier League.
All of this points to a resigned-looking side that is lacking in confidence, which might help to explain why Newcastle have lost 16 of their past 18 league games when conceding first.
