Welcome to the preview of Newcastle v Crystal Palace.
Sunday January 4, 2026 and starts at 3 p.m.
Newcastle United will ring in the new year by hosting Crystal Palace on Sunday afternoon, hoping the next twelve months will bring more happy tidings after finally winning a major trophy in 2025.
Despite an inconsistent league season so far, 2026 has the potential to be very exciting, with NUFC looking to defend their League Cup title, attempt to win the FA Cup, qualify for the knockout stages of the Champions League and climb the Premier League ladder, all in the space of a few months.
It is the latter ambition that will take priority this weekend as the Toon hope to record back-to-back league wins for the second time all season.
Form
Newcastle have really struggled to build any decent form so far this season and our last six league matches have seen two wins, two draws and two defeats. They won both home and away against Burnley, while draws against Spurs and Chelsea took place under frustrating circumstances. We were unlucky to lose to Man United and never showed up against the Mackems, both losing 1-0. We have scored nine goals and conceded eight in these matches. We are thirteenth in the league, but a win could see us rise to seventh if results go our way.
Palace have won two, drawn one and lost three of their last six games, but only gained one point from the last four when they drew against Fulham. They have lost to Spurs, Leeds and Man City and have beaten both Fulham and Burnley. A quirk in the schedule: teams play each other twice in just a few weeks. They scored five goals in these matches and conceded ten. The seven points achieved put them eleventh in the league, while a win could potentially lift them to fifth on goal difference.
Last time out
Newcastle traveled to Burnley on Tuesday evening and recorded a 3-1 victory after storming into a two-goal lead inside six minutes. The match lasted just sixty-six seconds as Joelinton marked his return from injury with a fine effort that was hooked into the corner past former Toon keeper Dubravka. Just a few minutes later, defeat seemed on the cards when Wissa came home on his first league start.
Unfortunately, this was the sign for United to sit back and allow Burnley to gain a foothold. In the match, when persistent pressure from the home team reduced the deficit, we went into half-time 2-1. The second half was a tense affair with both teams clearing an effort off the line and Burnley hitting the crossbar with Pope well beaten. Fortunately, the points were secured in stoppage time when double agent Dubravka made a routine clearance and Bruno took full advantage, lifting the ball into an unguarded net from distance.
Crystal Palace hosted Fulham on New Year’s Day and were disappointed when their half-time lead was wiped out by a late equalizer on a frustrating evening that forced them to settle for a point.
State attack!
-Newcastle have won six of their past seven home games with Crystal Palace in all competitions.
-Palace have failed to find the net in their last five visits to St James’ Park.
-The Toon have scored nine goals in their past two home games with Palace. A 4-0 win in 23/24 was followed by a 5-0 win last season. A 6-0 win this Sunday would be great indeed!
Memorable match
In December 2019, Steve Bruce’s NUFC were putting a difficult start to the season behind them and picking up points that were beginning to ease relegation concerns. In the last game before Christmas, Crystal Palace rolled into town on the back of a four-match unbeaten run.
Popular midfielder Miggy Almiron was back in the starting line-up after a minor injury kept him out of the previous game and all eyes were on him as he looked to score his first goal for the club despite joining 11 months earlier. The match itself was a fairly boring encounter, but was memorable for a moment of magic that almost brought the house down. With just seven minutes to go and the match goalless, a cross into the penalty area was brought down by Andy Carroll and sweetly collected on Almiron’s half-volley, sending the ball into the top corner and sending the fans into raptures! Miggy ripped off his shirt and sprinted towards the crowd in a show of ecstasy on an afternoon where the Paraguayan’s wildly celebrated first place finish for the club proved to be the winner and sent Toon fans home full of celebratory cheers! Newcastle 1-0 Crystal Palace.
Played for both
Shola Ameobi was something of a cult figure during an eventful fourteen-year stay at NUFC. Highlights include seven incredible derby goals, a number of European goals (including Champions League strikes at Barcelona and Bayer Leverkusen) and a spectacular goal in a 2-1 win over Chelsea, when he controlled the ball on his chest and fired an effort into the bottom corner on the turn. Despite this, he was a frustrating character for much of his time on Tyneside, with fans complaining of unfulfilled potential and a lack of consistency in front of goal. He made four loan appearances for Palace in 2015 without finding the net.
Yohan Cabaye signed for Alan Pardew in 2011 and enjoyed a fine first season in black and white, scoring some spectacular goals including a winner against Wigan and incredible free-kicks against both Blackburn and Man United as NUFC finished fifth in the league. The following season saw a dip in form for the entire team, but Cabaye still scored notable goals in successive games at the Mackems and Liverpool. He played half of the 13/14 season before signing for PSG in January 2014. Despite the circumstances of his move being somewhat messy, he had achieved some success that season, scoring twice in a 3–1 win over West Ham and becoming the first Newcastle player to score the winning goal in a league match at Old Trafford in forty-one years. He signed for Crystal Palace in 2015 and has scored nine goals in ninety-six league matches. He also missed a penalty against Newcastle in 2016.
Andros Townsend signed for Newcastle in 2016 and scored four goals in our fruitless bid to avoid relegation. The highlight of his time at NUFC was actually against Crystal Palace, when he kicked in a free-kick on a day when Karl Darlow saved a penalty from Cabaye (see above) in a 1-0 win, when it looked like we might pull off the great escape from the dreaded drop. He left the club after relegation, signed for Palace and played there for five years, scoring thirteen goals in one hundred and sixty-eight league matches.
Managers
Eddie Howe after a 3-1 win away at Burnley:
“It was a huge win for us. I don’t think it mattered too much tonight in terms of how we did, we just had to do it. It was a really strong start from us, in recognition of how important the game was. I can’t praise the players enough for the way we pushed through. It was never going to be easy tonight. That second half lasted a whopping forty-five minutes, we had to get over the line and give full credit to the players for how they saw the game and the character of the group.” I think we were close before. In my opinion, we are moving in the right direction when it comes to the level of performance. If you keep playing well – I thought Manchester United were a good example, I don’t think we played badly, we had chances to get something out of the game but didn’t take them – then over time you will win games with the quality of players we have.
Oliver Glasner after a 1-1 draw at home to Fulham:
“Two big chances and incredible saves from Henderson. We are now in survival mode. As long as the legs did what we wanted, we were fine. We didn’t give them much, we created and scored a nice goal. Then it was a matter of time to give in, the pressure increased and we couldn’t break away. I have huge appreciation for the players, I can see their efforts. We have so many games and the team has quite few numbers, but they give everything they have. I know these. players will giving their best in every match.”
Good cause
The Newcastle United Fan Food Bank will once again be raising money across the Gallowgate, gratefully receiving food, cash and toiletries for those in need. Of particular importance are non-perishable food and drink items (such as noodles, pasta, rice, canned food, soup, cereal, liquor, long-life milk, etc.) as well as toiletries such as shower gel, shampoo, toothpaste and sanitary products. Please give what you can, any donation is greatly appreciated.
For more information and/or to donate online, visit Newcastle Foodbank
Prediction
This meeting between the current holders of the FA and League Cups has the potential to be huge for both sides who really need three points. I am confident and looking forward to a resounding victory for NUFC. Joelinton looked back to his best against Burnley and I can see him scoring again here in a great performance. Newcastle 3-0 Crystal Palace.
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