Newcastle after five gameweeks
Newcastle start 2026/27 under Matthias Jaissle, appointed in August after Eddie Howe left on the eve of the season. After five games they are ninth: draws with Liverpool and Bournemouth at home, a 2-0 win at Tottenham, a 4-1 defeat at Leeds and a 2-1 win over Hull. Nine scored, nine conceded, one clean sheet.
The squad has changed as much as the manager. Alexander Isak is at Liverpool, Anthony Gordon has left for Barcelona, Bruno Guimarães has joined Arsenal and Sandro Tonali Tottenham. What Newcastle do have is the lightest schedule of any side near the top half — no European football — and one of the kindest runs of fixtures after the international break.
Hall and Barnes are the picks
Lewis Hall is Newcastle’s top FPL scorer and first on corners and direct free kicks — a defender with a goal and an assist, so his points do not depend on a clean sheet Newcastle have only kept once. Harvey Barnes has played every minute and has a goal and three assists, more goal involvements than anyone at the club.
Joe Willock has two goals in three starts from midfield at £5.0m and is the differential. Anthony Elanga scored twice before an injury with no return date.
The striker question and the goalkeeper
Newcastle’s penalty order is thin at the top. Nick Woltemade is on loan at Juventus and William Osula is out with a foot injury, which leaves Yoane Wissa as the first available taker. Wissa has started every game up front with a goal and an assist, and is owned far more widely than that output — the most-owned Newcastle attacker is not the one scoring the points.
In goal, Lukáš Horníček has played every minute; Nick Pope has not played this season. At £5.0m Horníček is a cheap starting keeper rather than a points engine while Newcastle concede nearly two a game.
Newcastle’s next five
After the international break Newcastle play Coventry (A), Aston Villa (H), Crystal Palace (A), Everton (H) and Fulham (A). The FPL difficulty ratings put the first at 2 and the other four at 3 — only Fulham have an easier five, and none of it is interrupted by European midweeks.
That makes this the window for Newcastle exposure: Hall and Barnes together, with Willock as a cheap third. The live table on this page carries each player’s price, ownership and flag.