Match Preview
Newcastle United v Fulham
Premiership Match Day 20 22/23 at St. James' Park
Sunday 15 January 2023 KO: 14:00
Referee:
Robert Jones (Wirral)
Live on Sky
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The Premier League's two biggest overachievers of the season so far meet at St. James' Park on Sunday, when Fulham travel to Newcastle United.
Fulham Boss Marco Silva has taken his newly-promoted outfit to sixth heading into the weekend with The Magpies in the top four.
Fulham are the first side in the division to have reached the halfway mark of their respective season thanks to their rearranged game with Chelsea on Thursday.
They made the most of it too by beating their West London rivals 2-1 at Craven Cottage to leapfrog Liverpool into the top six.
Carlos Vinicius came up with the winner in Aleksandar Mitrovic's absence as Andreas Pereira produced another wonderful assist, while Bernd Leno put in another stellar performance in goal.
A magnificent run of form has seen them win every game in all competitions since the World Cup break.
They were able to make light work of Championship outfit Hull City with a heavily rotated side in among four league victories.
Silva's side may have played more games than every other side, but they are just four points off the top four.
An away win here will cut the gap between the teams to just one point, so there is a lot riding on it for both sides.
Newcastle will come into this fixture riding high following their cup success in midweek, as victory over Leicester City secured a first semi-final appearance since 2005.
That brought a much-needed confidence boost after going three games without a win, including an FA Cup loss at Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday.
Eddie Howe's side are just about clinging onto a top four spot, though, after back-to-back draws in the league.
Both games finished 0-0 though, which illustrates how even if they are misfiring in attack, they can rely on their defence to win them points.
Eleven goals conceded from 18 matches is unsurprisingly still the best record in the division, as their very settled back four have kept 10 clean sheets.
All the other sides in the top five play each other this weekend in the North London and Manchester derbies, so this is a great opportunity for Newcastle to regain some ground on those sides.
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Newcastle are unbeaten in six Premier League home matches with Fulham, winning three and drawing three.
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Fulham's most recent Premier League victory at St. James' Park came in May 2009.
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The Magpies are aiming to complete a league double over Fulham for the first time since 2007-08.
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Fulham have won four top-flight matches in a row for the first time since a run of five in 1966.
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The Cottagers can equal the club Premier League record of three successive away wins, set from April to May 2008 under Roy Hodgson.
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Marco Silva's side have earned four away victories this season, as many as they managed in their previous two Premier League campaigns combined.
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Fulham's tally of 31 points is the highest by a promoted team at this stage of a Premier League season since Wigan accrued 34 in 2005-06.
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Aleksandar Mitrovic is aiming to become the first Fulham player to score in four Premier League away games in a row.
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Newcastle are vying to equal a club record of 14 top-flight games without defeat, set in 1950 and equalled between May and November 2011.
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The Magpies could also keep five consecutive top-flight clean sheets for the first time in their history.
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Eddie Howe's side have conceded just five league goals at St. James' Park this season, with three of those coming against Manchester City.
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Callum Wilson has scored four times in four Premier League matches against Fulham.
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Sven Botman is yet to lose in 16 top-flight appearances since his debut in August (W9, D7). It's the longest unbeaten start for any Newcastle player in Premier League history.
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