Newcastle boss Eddie Howe welcomes his old side Bournemouth on Saturday (15:00 BST), with the two clubs in contrasting form.
Magpies struggle to hold on to a lead
Newcastle have lost seven of their last 10 Premier League matches and any hope that a three-week break might lift them out of their recent slump was quashed by their defeat at Crystal Palace last weekend.
It was their third loss in a row in all competitions – a flat performance and another game in which they threw away a lead.
Newcastle have dropped 25 points from winning positions in this Premier League campaign – five more than any other side. It's a statistic that Howe says "has blighted our season".
They have conceded 30 goals after scoring first in Premier League games in 2025-26, a division-high, and have had just three clean sheets in their 16 Premier League matches at St James' Park this season.
That statistic might not improve this weekend as Newcastle have conceded in all seven of their top-flight home games against Bournemouth, which is the most times they've faced a side without a clean sheet at St James' Park in the Premier League.
Cherries aim to see off Iraola in style
It may be a long way from the south coast to Tyneside but it's a journey Bournemouth seem to enjoy.
They have lost on just two of their eight Premier League visits to St James' Park and have averaged three goals a game in their past three matches in all competitions there.
One of those was their FA Cup penalty shootout defeat on 10 January. That was a tough pill to swallow, but since then, the Cherries haven't lost – in fact they are unbeaten in their past 12 Premier League matches, their longest undefeated run in the competition.
Bournemouth conceded three goals at Newcastle in January but their defence, which was decimated in last summer's transfer window, has been pretty tight so far in 2026, conceding just three goals in their last six away games.
It has all helped to contribute to their long unbeaten streak – coincidentally, the last side other than Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City to have a longer such run without losing were Newcastle, who went 17 unbeaten in 2022-23.
The Cherries are currently 11th, but with things tightly packed in the Premier League mid-table, they have every chance of exceeding their previous best finish of ninth. That would be a fitting tribute to head coach Andoni Iraola, who announced this week that he will leave the club in the summer.
