Newcastle United

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We asked you to rate Newcastle United's start to the season and tell us what Matthias Jaissle should be focusing on during this extended international break.

Here are some of your comments:

Ray: Our points haul has been more impressive than our performances overall. However, a number of key players will soon be returning from injury, so I expect that we can maintain a mid-table position into the next phase of the season. The new young players all have positive attributes, especially Sean Steur, who looks to be a class above.

Dan: It's been a 7/10 start all things considered. We have nine players out injured, we've lost Bruno, Gordon and Tonali. I think we will be fine this season, but fans shouldn't expect massive highs. Shearer said it best - this season will be full of highs and lows.

Alvin: Mixed bag to say the least. The players are refreshed under Jaissle, as evidenced by the performances of Elanga and Wissa, injury and missed penalty notwithstanding. Hanging on to wins after dropping so many points from leading positions last season is also encouraging. But the team have given up lots of shots while creating very little - outperforming on both ends is great but unsustainable. Still, optimism is high that returning players (Burn and Joelinton, captain and vice-captain) will lift the team.

Toshi: Given the changes that happened - loss of Howe, the captain, the star number six and star winger - which are massive change, I think Newcastle are doing all right. The only really disappointing result has been Leeds. With the new younger squad and the new manager, there will be times when the tactics won't stick and we get overrun. Leeds saw an opportunity and rushed Newcastle into making mistakes. It's now time for Jaissle to train the shortcomings out of the squad and fix the tactics so Newcastle can go back to winning again.

Andrew: Solid start considering all the changes, young squad and injuries. Can see what the new gaffer is trying to do. We will have more results like Leeds as part of learning process but I'm optimistic about what's to come.

Atalanta and Italy defender Giorgio Scalvini, 22, is the subject of interest from Newcastle, Tottenham and Chelsea. (Caught Offside), external

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As we enter the season's first international break, we want to hear your thoughts on the opening five games in the Premier League.

It was a frantic summer and start to the season on Tyneside, as the Eddie Howe era ended and Matthias Jaissle joined amid a flurry of player exits and arrivals.

Jaissle began with an encouraging draw against Liverpool but the 4-1 defeat at Leeds United was a sore one for everyone connected with the club. He has picked up two wins and another draw in the other three league games, meaning the Magpies are in ninth.

With a relatively young squad with little Premier League know-how, Jaissle has a difficult start to life as a Premier League manager.

How do you rate the Magpies' start to the season and why? And what should Jaissle be focusing on during the extended break?

Get in touch with your views here

Former Newcastle defender John Anderson reckons the £23m paid to sign teenage midfielder Sean Steur from Ajax is "looking like a bargain".

The 18-year-old made 24 appearances for Ajax in 2025-26 and has started twice in the Premier League for the Magpies this season, impressing in Saturday's 2-1 win over Hull City.

"He is still a very inexperienced boy," Anderson told BBC Radio Newcastle.

"Yes, he has played games for Ajax, but coming to the Premier League, with the pace and physicality, is totally different.

"It would have been easy for his confidence to be knocked after the Leeds game.

"He wanted to show how good a player he is and that the Leeds performance was not going to affect him. He was absolutely outstanding.

"He looked well beyond his years and totally controlled it. He looks like someone with a huge future in the game.

"That £23m is looking like a bargain."

Hit play above to hear more discussion between Anderson and BBC Radio Newcastle's Matthew Raisbeck, or listen on BBC Sounds here

Chelsea forward Cole Palmer, Manchester United duo Kobbie Mainoo and Marcus Rashford, Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice and Newcastle defender Tino Livramento have pulled out of England's squad for forthcoming Nations League matches.

Everton midfielder James Garner and Nottingham Forest captain Morgan Gibbs-White have been called up by manager Thomas Tuchel and will join the squad on Tuesday.

Tuchel said on Friday that 26-year-old Gibbs-White, who has six international caps, was close to being included in the initial squad.

Palmer had been recalled by Tuchel after being controversially left out of England's World Cup squad, but has withdrawn with a minor injury.

Mainoo and Rashford were assessed by their club after being taken off in the closing stages of Sunday's 1-1 draw at Fulham.

Rice, who played the full game for Arsenal in their 3-0 defeat by Brighton, will also be unavailable to Tuchel, along with Livramento, who has been limited to three substitute appearances for Newcastl this season.

Like Gibbs-White, Garner - who made both his two senior England appearances in March - comes in after not being selected for the 2026 World Cup.

We asked for your thoughts after Saturday's Premier League game between Newcastle United and Hull City.

Here are some of your comments:

Newcastle fans

David: Newcastle did well to bounce back from the Leeds horror show and a win was truly necessary to steady the ship and bring back the confidence to the players in the depleted squad on the day. Onwards we go under the guidance of the very impressive new manager, who is getting us out of the rut we ended up in with Eddie Howe.

Christopher: Terrific fist half. Some inexperience showed in the second half but, overall, a very welcome and gutsy performance from a very young side. Best yet to come.

John: A big improvement on last Monday night's performance. The passes seemed more accurate and the commitment was back for the first half. The penalty miss was unfortunate, as was the loss of Steur. But the points are valuable going into the break, which would have seemed much longer with a bad performance.

George: A great reaction coming of the Elland Road defeat with an imposing start. Also great to see Willock back to his best - Jaissle will be glad to have a player of his quality.

Hull City fans

Mark: How we did not get anything from that game, I do not know, but the manager has got to start with some more of the new signings bceause some of the players from last season are just not up to the Premier League, I am sorry to say.

John: Hull City were caught napping for those early goals. But after we'd gone 2-0 down, we were by far the better side. We were unlucky not to equalise really. But we're leaving St James's Park with sky-high confidence. Nobody will want to play us and we'll want to play anyone.

Stephen: Apart from the disastrous start, the performance was not bad - in fact, we deserved a draw as a minimum.

Ade: Should have won it in the end after a shocking start. Not many teams will be taking the Tigers on thinking it will be a walk in the park now.

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Newcastle defender Lewis Hall has said the Magpies are "happy with the three points" from Saturday's 2-1 win over Hull City but added that his side "got a bit sloppy".

Hall put the hosts 2-0 ahead after just seven minutes but the Tigers came back into the match after that.

"We let them get back into the game, which we need to look at," Hall told BBC Radio Newcastle.

"It was a mixture of our own doing and a good finish from their guy. When the score is 2-1 you know where the game is going to go - it's just about the mentality.

"I liked to get involved in attacking play and I'm happy to have got a goal.

"It's always a nice feeling scoring, but doing it at home is a different feeling. Buzzing with that and all the family are here, which makes it special."

On the start to the season Newcastle have made under new boss Matthias Jaissle, Hall added: "Really positive. Apart from the slip-up at Leeds, we can be proud.

"We have started better than people would have expected. The mentality in the dressing room is really good."

Hit play below to hear more from Hall or listen on BBC Sounds here

Newcastle face competition from Barcelona for Djurgarden and Norway midfielder Bo Hegland, 22. (Football Insider), external

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Match of the Day pundit Alan Shearer analyses how Newcastle unlocked Hull's defence in their 2-1 win on Match of the Day.

Ciaran Kelly
Football reporter

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Matthias Jaissle had made it clear to his players that they needed to take losing a duel personally following their meek performance against Leeds United. That message got through to his side on Saturday - in the first half, at least.

It was rather telling that Lewis Miley won the ball back high up the field in the build-up to Willock's opener, while Lewis Hall also dispossessed a blue shirt before doubling his side's lead just a few minutes later.

No wonder Jaissle was applauding such aggression as he walked down the tunnel at half-time.

However, by full-time, the German let out a relieved roar and clenched both fists following a nail-biting victory.

Jaissle was pleased with the "heart" his side showed to hang on but felt the nervousness inside the stadium after Newcastle repeatedly dropped points from a similar position last season.

"That's maybe somehow a trauma from the past that stuck," he said. "I hope we can change that mindset.

"The players told me already these games maybe would have ended in a different result. We tried to change this narrative, that belief also, and hopefully you can feel that in the next weeks and months that if something goes wrong, we are energised in a positive way and supporting.

"With a young squad, especially, this is really important."

Newcastle will need to find a way to control games moving forward, but a return of eight points from their opening five league matches is a good foundation to build on following a summer of huge change.

Newcastle manager Matthias Jaissle, speaking to BBC Match of the Day: "We showed an incredible reaction after the defeat at Leeds. The first half was excellent, we could have killed the game with a third goal for sure. We were totally dominant and then in the second half you saw the legs were getting tired towards the end - but we were also missing nine players today. I am really proud and I want to show them respect for what they did at the end of the game when it was tough. To defend their own box, everyone was committed and really fighting for the three points. This is something we can count on."

On his side's fast start: "As I said, we wanted to show the right reaction after Leeds and this is something we are very proud of - and we could deliver when it is needed. We wanted to also show a clear reaction in front of ours. Overall, when you see the 90 minutes, it was a deserved win."

On his start to life as Newcastle manager: "Overall, really satisfied. You see a couple of challenges already from the outside, and you also know there is a huge transition at the moment in the club. And in these circumstances, we are really proud of what we have seen so far from the lads, fully committed to the journey. Now it is time to reflect and also hopefully get some players back from injury."

Listen to Jaissle speaking to BBC Radio Newcastle here

Did you know?

• Newcastle have won three of their last four Premier League games against Hull (drawing the other), winning their first-ever home match in the competition against the Tigers.

• Lewis Hall's goal after just six minutes and 34 seconds was the earliest Newcastle have been 2-0 up in a Premier League home game since April 2023 against Spurs (Joelinton netting the second goal in the sixth minute).

Former Newcastle United coach Steve Stone on BBC Radio Newcastle: "Well, it's massive relief. The performance first half was terrific but you could see that Hull had something in them on the counter-attack.

"We mentioned just before half-time if they could get one back there'd be real problems but Newcastle didn't really help, the way they tried to control and manage the game.

"They were still trying to go for that third goal which is commendable but there's a certain way you can go for it, doesn't have to go forward every single time. They were causing themselves problems by doing that."

Whether you were at the game or following from elsewhere, we want to know what you learned.

Have your say on Newcastle's performance

What did you make of Hull's display?

Reaction and analysis to follow - and come back on Monday for a selection of your replies.

There are five games in the Premier League on Saturday and BBC Sport will bring you every moment.

• Tottenham v Aston Villa (12:30)

• Brighton v Arsenal - listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

• Everton v Ipswich

• Newcastle v Hull City - listen on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra 2

• Nottingham Forest v Coventry (17:30) - listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

Kick-off times 15:00 BST unless stated.

Follow all of the action and reaction here

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I can see this being a frustrating afternoon for Newcastle because they are going to come up against a Hull City team who are brilliant at defending the box but also brave with the way they throw people forward.

They are a threat from set-plays too but they have got the bit between their teeth and their whole attitude seems to be 'attack the Premier League' after getting promoted, which I really admire.

Along with Ipswich, Hull are the only other team I've predicted to lose all their games so far.

I am going to tip them not to lose this time... so you know what is probably going to happen. Apologies in advance to Tigers fans, because this happened with me and Sunderland last season.

Sutton's prediction: 1-1

Read the full predictions and have your say here

Noel Sliney
BBC Sport senior journalist

Newcastle United seek a first home league win of the season as they face high-flying Hull City, the only team to play at St James' Park more than once in the Premier League and never lose (W2, D1).

It's not all black and white for Newcastle

Throughout Newcastle's unbeaten five-match start to the season, it was evident that this vibrant young team is, as is the nature of any rebuild, a work in progress. Monday night's bruising 4-1 defeat by Leeds merely brought the shortcomings into sharper focus.

Matthias Jaissle's side had been defying some underlying metrics in the opening three league games, which made their positive start to the season look unsustainable. "We need to expect ups and downs," Jaissle has admitted.

Putting aside the fact Newcastle were uncharacteristically outfought by Leeds, they have issues to address at both ends of the pitch – some predating the £265m-plus squad overhaul this summer.

Newcastle have conceded 39 goals in 23 Premier League games this calendar year – only Crystal Palace and Chelsea have a worse record – and kept just two clean sheets in the last 20 of those. This season, the mid-table Magpies have faced the most shots in the division, while only three teams should have conceded more goals based on the quality of chances against them.

In attack, Newcastle have had the joint-second fewest shots but scored seven times from an expected goals tally of 3.9. While the use of xG is divisive among football supporters, it does suggest an over-performance in front of goal that will be hard for Newcastle to sustain.

Continuity helping Hull thrive

Fourth-placed Hull City are looking to become the first promoted Premier League side to avoid defeat in their opening five games since Portsmouth in 2003-04.

Their impressive adaptation to the Premier League has come about while doubling down on last season's style of play. Hull have averaged just 29.3% possession this season but pressed their opponents aggressively and more often than any other side to win the ball and start swift counter attacks.

Tellingly, the core of the team which earned promotion are still entrusted with implementing this approach – despite the club signing 18 players this summer.

Seven or more of the starting XI in each of Hull's Premier League games so far were at the club last season, aiding the continuity of tactics and a feeling of togetherness.

Eight of the 11 Hull players who have spent the most time on the pitch to date were part of the promotion-winning squad. Overall, players who were at the club last season account for 67% of minutes played by the Tigers in the Premier League.

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Former Newcastle United centre-back Steve Howey has been discussing on BBC Radio Newcastle whether Fabian Schar should be played in midfield.

Howey said: "I get the suggestion, I just think in this particular game [against Hull], I think he's a good player, but in this game if you would bring him in as it will be a battle in there.

"I think Schar's temperament can be the type that silently loses his rag a little bit and give away needless fouls.

"There's no doubt he can play football, I'm just thinking about the physicality of it.

"You don't want to be going into nearly three weeks [of international break] with two loses on the bounce, so I get what is being seen, but sometimes I think he can be a liability.

"If he gives away an early foul, I guarantee it's not going to be long before he gets another one. The last thing you want to do is lose a man early doors.

"I think you've got to give him a little bit of time."

Listen by hitting play below or on BBC Sounds here

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Thomas Tuchel has named his squad for England's upcoming Nations League fixtures.

Goalkeepers: Jordan Pickford (Everton), Jason Steele (Brighton), James Trafford (Leeds United)

Defenders: Trent Alexander-Arnold (Real Madrid), Jarrad Branthwaite (Everton), Trevoh Chalobah (Como), Marc Guehi (Manchester City), Lewis Hall (Newcastle), Ezri Konsa (Arsenal), Tino Livramento (Newcastle), Nico O'Reilly (Manchester City), Jarell Quansah (Bayer Leverkusen).

Midfielders: Elliot Anderson (Manchester City), Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid), Myles Lewis-Skelly (Arsenal), Kobbie Mainoo (Manchester United), Cole Palmer (Chelsea), Declan Rice (Arsenal), Alex Scott (Bournemouth).

Forwards: Harry Kane (Bayern Munich), Dominic Calvert-Lewin (Leeds United), Eberechi Eze (Arsenal), Anthony Gordon (Barcelona), Rio Ngumoha (Liverpool), Marcus Rashford (Manchester United), Morgan Rogers (Chelsea), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal).

Follow reaction and Tuchel's news conference here

Ciaran Kelly
Newcastle United reporter

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Matthias Jaissle spent the bus journey home from Monday's tough game at Leeds United digging into the detail behind the defeat with his analysts.

However, just as Jaissle has not allowed himself to get too high following positive results, he has not tended to emotionally rip up the foundations after a setback, either, as former Red Bull Salzburg midfielder Zlatko Junuzovic explained.

"They analysed the situation and, where necessary, made one or two adjustments, but nothing drastic," Junuzovic said of the Newcastle boss' approach to losses during their time in Austria.

"I think he's still in a phase of figuring things out [at Newcastle], where he has to see for himself which players fit his system and which ones don't."

Jaissle, 38, may still be a relatively young manager but he has experience to fall back on in that regard.

It was a different level, a different sort of capitulation and a different squad, but the German also suffered a bruising away defeat at a similar point of his reign at Saudi Pro League side Al-Ahli, when they were hammered 5-1 by Al-Fateh in 2023.

Could that difficult night at Elland Road prove a similarly valuable learning experience or will this campaign be characterised by further ups and downs?

"We don't search for excuses, even with a young squad," Jaissle said. "We need to learn fast."

Read the full article here

Ciaran Kelly
Newcastle United reporter

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Matthias Jaissle shook his head for emphasis.

"No, no, no," the Newcastle United head coach repeated in his news conference. "Absolutely the wrong approach."

Jaissle had just been asked if he was tempted to switch systems a few days after Newcastle's bruising 4-1 defeat at Leeds United.

It was a night when Newcastle were bullied defensively, overrun in the middle of the park and a little unimaginative going forward as they repeatedly went long.

Rather than fixating on his 4-2-3-1 formation, though, Jaissle felt it was his meek side's failure to "live the principles" which proved costly at Elland Road.

Jaissle, like predecessor Eddie Howe, has a number of non-negotiables, including being intense, physical and competitive in every duel.

Yet Newcastle alarmingly lost 56% of their individual battles against Leeds in the first half as the hosts raced into a 3-0 lead.

It was Newcastle's first loss of the season, but Jaissle's team can ill-afford a similar start when in-form Hull City visit St James' Park on Saturday.

Newcastle are set to be without Dan Burn, Amar Dedic, Nico Gonzalez, Joelinton, Jacob Ramsey, Anthony Elanga and William Osula.

A particularly youthful side could line up as a result, with 18-year-old Sean Steur in line to partner 20-year-old Lewis Miley in midfield.

"I heard also from a pundit why I was playing with such young players," he said. "Because we have only young players in the squad.

"JJ [Ramsey] is injured as well, so we trust them and this is our approach.

"As I said four weeks, five weeks ago, it's a brave journey the club is going on and I'm fully committed in that.

"So now, if there is one setback, we shouldn't delete our journey or our vision."