Aiming to snap their miserable losing run before commencing Champions League duties, Newcastle United welcome Brentford to St James' Park for Saturday's tantalising Premier League showdown.

Eddie Howe's men were outfought and outclassed in a 3-1 loss to Brighton & Hove Albion two weeks ago, while the Bees remain unbeaten thanks to a 2-2 draw versus Bournemouth.

Indeed, 18-year-old Evan Ferguson added a few more pounds to his valuation by scoring a stunning hat-trick for Brighton, whose clean sheet was wiped out by an injury-time Callum Wilson strike, but the Englishman's contribution off the bench unsurprisingly proved insignificant.

The Magpies could not have been knocked for suffering one-goal losses to title-chasing Manchester City and Liverpool in normal circumstances, but allowing the 10-man Reds to snatch all three points from the jaws of defeat was clearly a harbinger of doom, and the hosts' 5-1 demolition of Aston Villa on the opening weekend now feels like an age ago.

Owing to their dissatisfactory start to the new term, Newcastle are languishing in 14th place in the table before they meet three European behemoths in Borussia Dortmund, Paris Saint-Germain and AC Milan in a harsh welcome back to life in the Champions League; the Italian giants await at San Siro for their first 'group of death' battle next Tuesday.