Newcastle United FPL: Who To Own, Captain And Avoid

Newcastle: the value is all at one end

Start with the number that matters: our model has Newcastle as one of the three sharpest attacks in the league — and one of the softer defences, down in the bottom half for keeping the ball out. That tells you everything about where to spend your money here, and where not to.

The fixtures help the good half of that equation. Aston Villa and Everton at St James' Park, trips to Crystal Palace and Fulham — a genuinely kind run for an attack this good, with only Arsenal (H) as the proper test. Our projections like the next six accordingly.

So who carries it? The table does the pricing; here's the meaning. Hall is the standout, and he's the rare Newcastle defender you can buy without needing clean sheets to pay off — he's on corners and free-kicks, he's nailed, and at £5.3m he clears a solid return most weeks from a position priced like a filler. About 2 in 10 managers already know this. Wissa is the attack's best route in: on penalties (shared with Osula), nailed, and projected the biggest haul of anyone at the club over the six. Barnes is the quiet one — same sort of projected return as Hall, on corners too, and fewer than 1 in 10 own him. If you want Newcastle's attack without the queue, that's your door.

The honest bit: the defence ranks mid-table-poor, and the fixture run for clean sheets is merely average. Thiaw and Botman are starting every week at £5.0m, which makes them perfectly serviceable squad-fillers — bodies who play, which is the whole job at that price — but don't buy them expecting shutout hauls. Same for Horníček in goal: starts, cheap, fine, no fireworks. Fernandez-Pardo and Willock are the romance picks, and the starts column tells you why I'm not interested — two and three starts respectively, and Willock isn't even nailed. A £6.0m forward who might not play is worth less than a £4.5m one who does.

The call: yes, buy into Newcastle over this run — but through the attack and through Hall. Wissa first if you need a forward, Hall first if you need a defender who scores without clean sheets, Barnes if you want the same production for less fuss and less company. Leave the back line to managers who enjoy disappointment.