Newcastle go into Saturday’s Newcastle vs Hull City clash having faced 76 shots already this season, more than any other Premier League side. They have kept only two clean sheets in their last 20 league matches, and they will be without eight players at St. James' Park. That leaves a home side under pressure before Hull City even kick off.

Newcastle's defensive problem

The defensive numbers are hard to ignore. Newcastle have conceded 39 top-flight goals in 2026, and the shot total points to a side that is still being stretched too often in and around its own box. When Matthias Jaissle said “the learning curve needs to be fast”, he was not talking in general terms, he was reacting to the 4-1 defeat at Leeds and the way it exposed them.

The absences only add to that. Dan Burn, Joelinton, Nico González, Anthony Elanga, Jacob Ramsey and Bazoumana Touré are among the players unavailable, and the midfield may have to be built around 18-year-old Sean Steur and 20-year-old Lewis Miley. That is a lot to ask in a match where the margin for error is already thin.

Hull city's start and Newcastle's response

Hull are not arriving as a soft landing. Sergej Jakirovic called their draw at Chelsea a “huge result”, and their opening four league matches have brought eight points and an unbeaten W2 D2 record. They have shown enough control to make this a proper test, even if some early-table talk has gone too far for comfort.

The same applies to the wider standings noise around Newcastle. Some previews have them sitting 12th again, but the live table is not settled yet, so the more relevant point is the shape of the team in front of them. Newcastle have already been forced into a reshuffle, and Hull have enough momentum to punish another loose start.

Saturday’s fixture should tell us more about how far Newcastle have come since Leeds than about where they might end up later in the autumn. If they open the game sloppily again, Hull have already shown enough to take advantage.

Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 2 outlets. How we work →