Our 2023/24 Fantasy Premier League (FPL) team previews get underway with Newcastle United.
From our selection of the best players for the upcoming season to a predicted line-up for Gameweek 1, we’ll dissect the Magpies in detail.
You can read our stats-heavy review of Newcastle’s memorable 2022/23 campaign here.
Data in this article comes from our Premium Members Area, which you can get with a discounted pre-season subscription.
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NEWCASTLE: REASONS TO BE CHEERFUL
Firstly, the manager.
While a truckload of Saudi money is obviously going to improve your squad no end, expenditure doesn’t necessarily equal on-field success (hello, Chelsea).
Eddie Howe has worked wonders with the likes of Sean Longstaff (£5.0m), Joelinton (£6.0m) and Miguel Almiron (£6.5m), who were borderline laughing stocks under previous regimes. Longstaff has even hinted that he wasn’t adequately coached before Howe’s arrival.
Reinforcements in midfield should also help under-staffed positions, with the acquisition of Harvey Barnes (£6.5m) and departure of Allan Saint-Maximin (£6.0m) an attempt to swap flair for finishing. Goalscoring was a real issue from left wing last season.
Strong underlying numbers from 2022/23 suggest fourth place wasn’t a fluke.
The Magpies were ranked second for expected goals (xG) and third for expected goals conceded (xGC) last year.
NEWCASTLE: REASONS TO BE FEARFUL
The reward for a top-four finish was UEFA Champions League qualification – and six extra competitive matches to fit in between Gameweeks 5-17.
It remains to be seen how well the Magpies juggle the demands of a two-games-a-week schedule and whether it affects their Premier League performances as a result.
It’s not just fatigue and possible rotation but also the shortage of preparation time for each domestic fixture, with Howe’s meticulous training-ground work a big part of Newcastle’s success.
A lack of depth at the back is something the north-east club will surely address, as they got lucky with few defensive injuries last season. Even allowing for Howe’s Midas touch, a backline containing Paul Dummett (£4.0m) and/or Javier Manquillo (£4.0m) doesn’t scream clean sheets.
SUMMER TRANSFER ACTIVITY
Newcastle haven’t gone completely bonkers in the transfer market this summer, with Howe citing Financial Fair Play (FFP) as an inhibiting factor.
FFP was also said to be the primary reason why Saint-Maximin was offloaded, although there was a sense he was never a great fit for a Howe-led side anyway.
Two big-money signings have arrived in the shape of Sandro Tonali (£5.5m) and Barnes.
Tonali is a box-to-box midfielder who looks set to compete with Sean Longstaff (£5.0m) and Elliot Anderson (£4.5m).
He’s also got a decent set-piece delivery on him, so it’ll be interesting to see whether he challenges Kieran Trippier‘s (£6.5m) monopoly of free-kicks and corners. There’s been no evidence of that in pre-season so far.
Barnes arrives off the back of scoring 13 goals for a Championship-bound Leicester City in 2022/23.
He’s predominantly a left-winger so will scrap with Anthony Gordon (£5.5m) for starts, although the former Everton man is also able to play on the opposite flank.
- READ MORE: FPL new signings: Will Tonali make Bruno Guimaraes more attacking?
- READ MORE: FPL new signings: Barnes brings goals to Newcastle attack
PRE-SEASON REPORT
Newcastle have been in the States for a week, remaining unbeaten in the all-Premier League Summer Series.
Anderson has been the star of the show over pre-season, recording seven attacking returns – no-one else has more than two at the time of writing. Howe admitted that the £4.5m midfielder was now pushing for a Gameweek 1 start.
The usual 4-3-3 has mostly been in use, with the exception of an unconvincing wing-back experiment against Aston Villa.
What we haven’t seen is Callum Wilson (£8.0m) and Alexander Isak (£7.5m) on the pitch at the same time, suggesting Howe may go back to playing one or the other this season – especially when it comes to juggling European and domestic commitments.
Also notable was a lively Gordon switching places with Isak against Chelsea. The England under-21 international may not only be Newcastle’s ‘third’ striking option but may also get plenty of chances to drift centrally even when used as a winger, a la Gabriel Martinelli (£8.0m) at Arsenal.
- REMAINING PRE-SEASON FIXTURES: v Fiorentina (Aug 5), v Villarreal (Aug 6)
OPENING FIXTURES
The schedulers have handed the Magpies a tricky start, at least before the September international break.
Newcastle were only beaten on five occasions in the league last season – and four of those losses were to their Gameweek 1-3 opponents.
Clean sheets may be few and far between as Manchester City, Liverpool and Brighton were first, second and third for big chances created in 2022/23.
And we’ve already seen the miracles that Unai Emery has overseen since his appointment at Aston Villa, who handed Eddie Howe’s side their biggest defeat of last season.
The good news is that things pick up considerably after the first mid-season hiatus, with Newcastle catapulted to the top of our Season Ticker for fixture difficulty from Gameweeks 5-10.
PREDICTED GAMEWEEK 1 LINE-UP
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