Newcastle United added to Ange Postecoglou’s woes in Gameweek 7, as they triumphed 2-0 over Nottingham Forest, courtesy of Bruno Guimaraes (£6.5m) and Nick Woltemade (£7.2m).

Here’s what we saw at St James’ Park.

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WOLTEMADE IMPACT

Nick Woltemade netted for the third home match in a row on Sunday, dispatching his second-half penalty in style.

He really ought to have scored from open play, too.

First, an effort from just outside the six-yard box was blocked by Morato (£4.4m), before he crashed the ball against the underside of the bar from close range.

Indeed, all three of Woltemade’s goal attempts in Gameweek 7 were classified as ‘big chances’.

Eddie Howe went with the same Newcastle XI that had convincingly beaten Union SG last week, with Anthony Elanga (£6.9m) and Anthony Gordon (£7.4m) flanking Woltemade. Both players underperformed, however, prompting a winger swap on 69 minutes, with Jacob Murphy (£6.2m) and Harvey Barnes (£6.4m) brought on from the bench.

With Gordon off the pitch, Woltemade confidently stepped up to score the penalty, lifting his spot-kick into the top corner.

“I thought today was a good performance. He grew into the game. The penalty was very composed. A really good penalty from someone playing with confidence. Nick spoke to me about taking penalties. He is confident in that respect.

“I loved the way he wanted to take the penalty in the way that he did. It wasn’t just, ‘I’m taking it’, it was, ‘I want to take it because I believe I can score and make a difference for the team’. He’s very team-led, he’s not thinking about himself and that’s also a great quality to have.” – Eddie Howe on Nick Woltemade

With Yoane Wissa (£7.4m) facing further time out (he is due back from a knee injury in November), it’s no surprise Woltemade is currently the third-most transferred-in player for Gameweek 8.

ANOTHER NEWCASTLE CLEAN SHEET/HALL INJURY

Sunday’s 2-0 win over Forest marked Newcastle’s fifth clean sheet in seven matches, the most of any top-flight team:

Above: Teams sorted by clean sheets (CS) in 2025/26

… and Forest barely threatened Newcastle at all at St James’ Park, as they generated just 0.18 expected goals (xG):

Even with Tino Livramento (£5.1m) and Lewis Hall (£5.3m) out injured, Newcastle looked solid, with Malick Thiaw (£4.9m) excelling next to Sven Botman (£4.9m) at centre-back.

Dan Burn (£5.1m), who has now started the last three matches at left-back, even chipped in with an assist.

As for Hall, he was not in the Newcastle matchday squad on Sunday. The left-back suffered a hamstring injury against Union SG and is now set to have a scan.

“He felt his hamstring against Union, which was a real blow for us. We’ve been trying to manage him back. Unfortunately, he just felt something in that game. We’ve had it scanned. Before we get conclusive evidence of how long he’ll be out, he needs another re-scan in about 10 days. So, it’s not going to be a short-term injury. We hope it’s not going to be a long-term injury, but we sort of don’t know yet.” – Eddie Howe on Lewis Hall

Any length of absence not just boosts Burn’s expected minutes but also his chances of getting forward from left-back, as he did for Bruno’s goal. He may get fewer defensive contributions, mind: there were just four from him on Sunday. That said, no Newcastle defender registered more than six as Forest rarely threatened.

If Burn is needed at left-back, Botman would be the Magpies’ only natural left-sided centre-back option. He should be another beneficiary of a Hall absence.

In other fitness news, Jacob Ramsey (£5.3m) should be fit after the international break.

“He’s good. He’s trained for two days, I just made the decision that I didn’t want to risk him and potentially set him back again. I want to give him the two weeks of the international break to make sure he’s ready for the next game.” – Eddie Howe on Jacob Ramsey

PRESSURE ON POSTECOGLOU

Ange Postecoglou’s winless run as Forest manager now extends to seven matches in all competitions.

At St James’ Park, he opted for a back three formation, with Jair Cunha (£4.4m) drafted in for his first Premier League appearance.

It was actually quite a pragmatic performance, but Forest’s defensive structure blunted their attacking threat.

Indeed, they managed only five goal attempts in Gameweek 7.

As for Chris Wood (£7.4m), he was hooked after 64 minutes and has now failed to score in each of his last six league matches.

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