Newcastle United faced Brentford at St. James' Park on Saturday, February 7, 2026, in a Premier League match where the Magpies were looking to bounce back from a string of disappointing results.

Newcastle United entered the match following a 3-1 defeat against Manchester City in the Carabao Cup semi-finals, extending their winless streak to four games across all competitions. Eddie Howe, Newcastle's manager, expressed concern about the manner in which his team was conceding goals. Before this recent slump, Newcastle had enjoyed a strong run at St. James' Park, remaining unbeaten in 13 matches. However, they had lost two of their last three home games.

Brentford, managed by Keith Andrews, came into the game with momentum, having impressively defeated Aston Villa 1-0 away from home, even after playing the entire second half with only ten men. Andrews voiced "immense pride" in his team's fourth victory in five competitive away matches. Prior to the match, Brentford sat three points ahead of Newcastle and were within touching distance of the top six in the league. Brentford had also been demonstrating a growing strength on the road, securing 75% of their away points in their last four Premier League trips.

In team news, Newcastle made five changes to their starting lineup. Bruno Guimarães returned to the team after recovering from an ankle injury that had kept him out for four matches. Yoane Wissa, who previously played for Brentford, started against his former club. Anthony Gordon was doubtful for Newcastle due to a hamstring injury. Kevin Schade was suspended for Brentford. The confirmed starting XI for Newcastle United was: Nick Pope, Kieran Trippier, Lewis Hall, Sven Botman, Sandro Tonali, Yoane Wissa, Harvey Barnes, Malick Thiaw, Jacob Murphy, Joe Willock, and Bruno Guimarães.

Earlier in the season, Brentford had defeated Newcastle United 3-1 at the Gtech Community Stadium. Historically, Newcastle has a strong home record against Brentford, having avoided defeat in their last ten encounters in all competitions at St. James' Park.

Going into the match, Newcastle was in 11th position in the Premier League, level on points and having scored and conceded the same amount of goals.

[Match updates continue, with initial reports of a 0-0 scoreline early in the match, later updating to 1-1 with Botman scoring for Newcastle.]