Why Newcastle United’s defence has been one of the Premier League’s best this season under Eddie Howe – scout report

Were not even halfway through the season, yet the Premier League has shown us many surprises. Arsenal are top of the league, and Chelsea and Liverpool are not even in the top six.

One of the surprises is Newcastle United, standing third in the league with 30 points. Having already played against five of the traditional top six clubs in Manchester City, Liverpool, Manchester United, Tottenham and most recently Chelsea, they have picked up two wins, two draws and one loss. This is already a better record in comparison with their performance against the top six clubs last season, having only won once.

Nonetheless, their results against the top six are not the only thing we should be appreciating about Newcastle United this season. With only 11 goals conceded in the competition, they are tied with Arsenal for the least goals conceded in the Premier League season so far. This time last season, after fifteen games, they conceded more than double the amount with 30 goals.

Their xG against is 27. if they conceded 27 goals they would have had the third most goals conceded. With 29 goals scored, they are not one of the top goal-scoring teams, so we can see that the reason for their high standing is indeed their defence and goalkeeper.

In this tactical analysis, in the form of a team scout report, let us take look at how their back line is structured, the tactics they use to defend in different situations and how the whole team, from the striker to the goalkeeper, plays a part in stopping their opposition. It will essentially be an analysis of why Newcastles defence is so good.

The setup

Eddie Howe employs a 4-3-3, with Kieran Trippier as the right-back, Fabian Schär and Sven Botman as the centre-backs and Dan Burn as the left-back. Often, Dan Burn comes in at centre back and Matt Targett plays on the left.

Eddie Howe does not like his team to be too rigid. Oftentimes, the wingers will drop back to the midfield and the 4-3-3 becomes a 4-5-1.

Although Eddie Howe does not tend to change the back four too much, they have a few good options on the bench in Jamaal Lascelles, Jamal Lewis and Javier Manquillo.

Kieran T