Crystal Palace host Newcastle United on Sunday in their eighth Premier League game of the season. But what can Palace fans expect from Matthias Jaissle’s side, and where could the game be won or lost. 

Palace come into this matchup off the back of a strong 2-2 draw in Istanbul on Thursday night, but Pierre Sage and his players still have a point to prove following the 5-0 demolition they received last week at the Amex. 

Ahead of the game, Jaissle spoke about Palace as an opposition, and hinted that he sees the game as a great chance to earn three points. Here’s everything you might have missed from Newcastle’s season so far. 

It’s been a relatively difficult start to the campaign for Newcastle. A huge change was made in the summer, when Eddie Howe decided to leave his role after almost five years in charge. In that time, he brought unprecedented success to the loyal Geordies, winning the League Cup and reaching the Champions League, heralding numerous memorable nights at St James’ Park. 

Howe had initially planned on staying with the club and steering them further towards the top of the Premier League table, but after Anthony Gordon and Sandro Tonali were sold to Barcelona and Tottenham Hotspur respectively, he made the decision to leave. 

Newcastle decided to hand the reins to Matthias Jaissle, a manager who was relatively unknown on English soil, but had made a name for himself in both Austria and Saudi Arabia. 

In Austria, he coached Red Bull Salzburg, and led the side to a domestic double in his first campaign, following that with another league title, reaching the knockout stages of the UEFA Champions League too. 

That form earned him a move to Saudi Arabia and Al-Ahli. There, he won back-to-back AFC Champions League titles before taking the leap to join Newcastle. 

Not only did they lose Howe and bring a new manager in, but Newcastle also lost a number of key players from their starting eleven. Along with Gordon and Tonali, club captain Bruno Guimarães left for Arsenal. Kieran Trippier also left, as did Nick Woltemade, joining Juventus on loan. 

They spent big though, with a total expenditure of £262 million according to transfermrkt. 

It’s been a big change for the club, and that has reflected in Newcastle’s results so far this season. They opened their Premier League campaign with a 2-2 draw with Liverpool, which was followed by a 2-0 win away at Spurs. 

Since then, Newcastle have played five Premier League games, drawing one, winning one and losing three. 

Those losses included two 4-1 defeats, one at the hands of Leeds United, the other away to Coventry, demonstrating that their away form is certainly something which could provide an advantage for Palace. 

Newcastle are currently two places above Palace in the Premier League table, with eight points from their opening seven games, which is one better than Palace’s return. 

In those seven games, they’ve scored ten and conceded fourteen, so have a stronger goal difference than Palace who have scored one less but conceded three more. 

Ahead of the game, Newcastle manager Matthias Jaissle has spoken to the media, and whilst he praised Palace, he labelled the game as an ‘opportunity’ to win three points. 

“There are always times when you would and wouldn’t want to play an opponent. They have had a defeat and drew yesterday, they will want a reaction.”

Pierre Sage was supposedly under huge pressure after the defeat at Brighton, and whilst the draw at Beşiktaş was a positive step in the right direction, a good result at home to Newcastle would go some way to relieving that pressure. 

“We can only focus on ourselves, what we can control. We are fully focused on Palace, to deliver the match plan.”

Newcastle too will be looking to get back to winning ways after a disappointing October in the Premier League. 

“There is a setback at the moment and we need to overcome it. The disappointment for the fans is part of the game.”

Jaissle also shed light on his squad’s fitness ahead of the game. He was hopeful that Anthony Elanga would be fit to start after missing the last four games, whilst also confirming that Jacob Ramsey had returned to training during the week. 

Whilst Newcastle will be keen to register a win, Palace will be hopeful of stopping that from happening.