Newcastle 2-0 The Athletic: Eddie Howe’s side won in Europe again but need to improve on their away form

However, away from home it was a very different story.

Newcastle have won just four league games during their travels in 2025 and have looked particularly honest of late.

The Howes have scored a quarter as many goals (two) away from home as they have at home in the league (eight), and Wolves are the only team to have scored fewer (one) on the road.

Jacob Murphy’s opener against West Ham was a rare example of how ruthless this team is away from home in the league – just 26 seconds after Hammers captain Jarrod Bowen hit the post.

Although Newcastle had more possession away from home (56%) than from home (47.1%), according to Opta, Howe’s side had 30 fewer touches in the opposition penalty area (110) and only had half as many shots on target (13) on their trips, highlighting the difficulties they faced in breaking down teams.

Newcastle can at least fall back on their solidity as a base to build on earlier in the season after closing out matches against Aston Villa, Leeds United and Bournemouth in their first three away games of the season.

But the visitors have since scored five goals in just two games against Brighton and West Ham.

This defensive effort begins with pressure from the front, but Newcastle have regained possession on eight fewer occasions (16) away from home than at home (24), while the popular midfield trio of Sandro Tonali, Joelinton and Guimaraes have been outplayed repeatedly on the road in recent weeks.

Byrne spoke of the need to “be a little bit uglier”, noting how his team was “known a few years ago for something homely”.

And Howe acknowledged his side “maybe need a little bit of that” ahead of Sunday’s trip to Gtech Community Stadium, as he called on his players to bring “quality, execution and, most importantly, mentality”.

“It’s about playing a football match and doing well, no matter where we play,” he said.

“The only way we can answer these questions is to actually do the work and do it.”