Newcastle United vs. Hull City Match Preview | OneFootball

Newcastle United welcome Premier League high-flyers Hull City at St James’ Park on Saturday afternoon and both teams have been in contrasting form of late.

This will be the first competitive meeting between the sides since November 2016. On that occasion, Hull City prevailed on penalties in the League Cup.

Tigers have been the surprise package of the Premier League

Before the 2026/27 campaign began, few people believed Hull City would enjoy the start they did.

Indeed, a home clash against Manchester United was earmarked as arguably one of the more difficult opening day matchups the club could have landed, yet the Tigers handled it with ease.

A straightforward 2-0 win was followed up with a late winner against Coventry to take six points from six on their return to the top flight after a nine-year absence.

Back-to-back draws with Aston Villa and Chelsea indicate that Sergej Jakirović’s men belong in the Premier League and they remain unbeaten after four games.

Just what can the club achieve this season? Following this impressive start, is avoiding the drop still the ultimate goal?

Stretching their undefeated run to five matches is certainly the priority on Saturday, and given that Newcastle suffered a dismal 4-1 loss to Leeds United in their previous match, anything is possible.

Matthias Jaissle has endured a mixed start at Newcastle

Eddie Howe’s departure from Newcastle initially seemed like a massive shock to the system for the Magpies.

When the dust settled, however, it gave the club a chance to wipe the slate clean and embark on a new era.

Jaissle came within minutes of beating Liverpool on matchday one, before going on to seal wins over West Brom in the EFL Cup and Tottenham Hotspur in the league.

Since then, Newcastle have just one win in three and that came against Millwall in the cup. The recent 4-1 defeat to Leeds might linger for a while, something that Hull could take full advantage of.

You have to go all the way back to January 2015 for Newcastle’s previous victory over the Tigers and it will take an impressive effort to break down a defence which has conceded only twice in four matches.

It all depends on what version of Newcastle turns up. If the starting XI deliver a performance akin to that in the defeat to Leeds, Hull will take three points.

Performing as they did against Liverpool and Spurs, however, will make things far more interesting. That much is certain.

Team news

Anthony Elanga, Jacob Ramsey, Amar Dedić, Nico González, Ewen Jaouen, Dan Burn, Joelinton and William Osula will all be missing for the game on Saturday due to injury.

Jaissle might consider making several changes from the clash against Leeds, with Bazoumana Touré likely to be unleashed for his first start after netting in that game.

Hull City will be without the services of Hidemasa Morita, Ilyas Ansah, Jack Butland, Charlie Hughes, Elliot Matazo and Darko Gyabi because of injury.

Prediction

Newcastle’s first league defeat of the season halted the positive momentum that they were building and this clash against Hull City will be a significant test for the manager.

A solid display is required if three points are to be won, yet Jakirović’s men are under no pressure whatsoever following their surprising start to the campaign.

Home advantage might prove crucial for the Magpies, yet Hull have taken a point from Stamford Bridge and three from the Coventry Building Society Arena in recent weeks.

This tie might be one of the more interesting fixtures on matchday five, especially as both teams will be pushing for a victory. Newcastle United 1 – 1 Hull City.