Preview: Newcastle United vs Bournemouth - prediction, team news, lineups

The St James' Park spotlight will soon shine down on Andoni Iraola, who could be auditioning for a new job when Bournemouth meet Newcastle United in Saturday's Premier League showdown.

The Cherries are contesting their first match since it was confirmed that Iraola would leave at the end of the season, and a second Eddie Howe succession is not beyond the realm of possibility.

Match preview

Iraola did not directly take the reins from Howe at Bournemouth - Jason Tindall, Jonathan Woodgate, Scott Parker and Gary O'Neil all came between them - but the Spaniard has inevitably been tipped to follow in the Newcastle manager's footsteps again.

More on the Bournemouth situation later, but the managerial merry-go-round should not only be limited to head coaches who are leaving their posts voluntarily, as the Magpies boss has arguably never been under more intense pressure than he is now.

Newcastle's propensity to drop points came to the fore at Selhurst Park last Saturday, where Jean-Philippe Mateta struck twice in the final 10 minutes to propel Crystal Palace to a 2-1 comeback victory and condemn the Magpies to their third loss on the spin in all tournaments.

Also coming out on the wrong end of the scoreline in four of their last six top-flight matches - dropping to an undesirable 14th place in the Premier League table in the process - Newcastle have now lost seven league games when scoring first this term, the most ever in the competition's history.

Six Premier League home losses - four of which have arrived in their last five - is also Newcastle's most in a single campaign under Howe, whose side can at least provide good entertainment value at St James' Park, where both teams have scored in the hosts' last seven matches in all tournaments.

The zenith of Iraola's Bournemouth career may be yet to arrive, but after leading the Cherries to their longest-ever unbeaten run in the Premier League and masterminding another tremendous triumph over Arsenal, the time was right for the Spaniard to decide his departure.

Exactly who will come calling for Iraola remains to be seen, but the 43-year-old will not be short of suitors, from upcoming opponents Newcastle to Manchester United, Liverpool, Athletic Bilbao or - whisper it quietly - Real Madrid.

For now, Iraola remains focused on the black-and-red task at hand after overseeing last weekend's warranted 2-1 victory over lethargic leaders Arsenal - a result that extended Bournemouth's unbeaten league run to a record 12 games, including each of their last six on the road.

The Cherries have also shipped a mere three goals in those 540 minutes of football, and even though they remain in the bottom half of the rankings, the gap to sixth-placed Chelsea reads just three points as the race for Europe hots up.

Newcastle did outwit Bournemouth from the penalty spot in January's FA Cup third-round clash, but the hosts are shockingly winless in each of their last seven top-flight games against the Cherries, who have also scored at least once in all of their Premier League visits to St James' Park.

Newcastle United Premier League form:

Newcastle United form (all competitions):

Bournemouth Premier League form:

Team News

While Mateta won the game for Palace with his 10th goal of the season last weekend, Newcastle's Joelinton picked up his 10th yellow card of the season, meaning that the Brazilian must now serve a two-match suspension.

Joelinton joins Emil Krafth (knee) and Fabian Schar (ankle) on the Newcastle sidelines, and Howe should not call upon Bruno Guimaraes (illness/thigh) to replace him, having already earmarked the Arsenal came as the latter's potential comeback date.

However, any of Jacob Ramsey, Joe Willock or Nick Woltemade - operating in a number 10 role - could deputise for Joelinton, while William Osula has surely done enough to reprise his role up front after his improvised finish at Selhurst Park.

Meanwhile, Bournemouth make the long trek north with no fresh fitness worries from the Arsenal game, and Iraola might even have Julio Soler back from a thigh injury on Saturday.

However, Lewis Cook's similar issue is taking longer to heal than expected, while Justin Kluivert - who memorably scored a hat-trick at St James' Park in this exact fixture last season - is still recovering from a knee problem.

Tyler Adams came off the bench at the Emirates following his own thigh problem, but Iraola should see no reason to break up the duo of Ryan Christie and Alex Scott, scorer of the bedlam-inducing winner in North London.

Newcastle United possible starting lineup:

Ramsdale; Trippier, Thiaw, Botman, Hall; Miley, Tonali, Ramsey; Barnes, Osula, Gordon

Bournemouth possible starting lineup:

Petrovic; Jimenez, Hill, Senesi, Truffert; Christie, Scott; Rayan, Kroupi, Tavernier; Evanilson

We say: Newcastle United 1-1 Bournemouth

As praiseworthy as Bournemouth's unbeaten run has been, the Cherries have dropped points against the likes of Burnley and West Ham United in that time, demonstrating their susceptibility to a stalemate.

Even a low Newcastle side can often be relied upon to make the net bulge at home, and we have faith in Howe's men to at least stop the losing rut with a hard-fought point.

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