St James' Park is the venue for the early Premier League kickoff on Boxing Day, as Newcastle United host Nottingham Forest at 12.30pm.

Both teams have weekend mistakes to rectify on Tuesday, as Eddie Howe's men lost 1-0 to Luton Town on Saturday, while Nuno Espirito Santo's first game in charge of the Garibaldi ended in a gut-wrenching 3-2 defeat to Bournemouth.

Match preview

While others will be busy tucking into leftover turkey at lunchtime on Boxing Day, Newcastle head coach Eddie Howe will endeavour to conjure up the recipe for just a second win in seven games for the Magpies, who are not ending the calendar year as they mean to go on.

Four days on from an agonising EFL Cup exit at the hands of Chelsea in the quarter-finals, the former Champions League competitors were undone by an old flame in Andros Townsend, whose 25th-minute header at Kenilworth Road propelled Luton to victory on an emotionally-charged afternoon for the Tom Lockyer-less Hatters.

It was not for the want of trying for Newcastle, who had 65% of the ball and saw an Alexander Isak equaliser ruled out for the tightest of offsides, but the form book now reads five defeats from six games for Tuesday's hosts, who have been demoted to seventh place in the rankings owing to West Ham United's 2-0 victory over Manchester United.

A trip to Liverpool on January 1 also has the potential to spoil the Magpies' New Year party, but Howe's men can take some solace in the fact that four of their five recent losses have come away from St James' Park, where they crushed 10-man Fulham 3-0 on December 16.

That routine success saw the Magpies stretch their marvellous home winning run in the Premier League to seven matches, during which time they have kept six clean sheets while shipping just one goal, but no team in English league history has suffered as many Boxing Day defeats as Newcastle, who have been beaten on 46 occasions on the festive date.

Despite the City Ground's adoration for the now-unemployed Steve Cooper, Santo was welcomed to town with warm applause from the Nottingham Forest faithful, but their pre-game optimism turned into post-game outrage after a captivating and controversial five-goal thriller.

Boos rang out at half time in the direction of referee Rob Jones, whose decision to send Willy Boly off for two bookable offences was a highly questionable one, but Chris Wood and Anthony Elanga had seemingly done enough to rescue a point for the 10-man Tricky Trees on Saturday afternoon.

However, with five minutes of added time on the board, Cherries hotshot Dominic Solanke - who already had two goals to his name - completed his hat-trick with an astonishing header, thus ensuring another three-point haul for the resurgent visitors in the most dramatic of circumstances.

Santo could not hide his anger at the decision to banish Boly as Forest slumped to a sixth defeat from seven games, which leaves the 17th-placed Garibaldi just two points above the relegation zone having played a game more than Luton, and next on the Portuguese's agenda is trying to snap a six-match winless streak on the road.

Such a scenario seems far-fetched at Newcastle's St James' Park base, where they have not lost a league game to Forest since the Reds were under the wing of Brian Clough in 1988, and the Magpies did the double over their upcoming visitors by an aggregate score of 4-1 last term.

Team News

A product of the Nottingham Forest academy, Newcastle captain Jamaal Lascelles is at risk of missing out on a reunion with his former club this week, as he was taken off with an apparent thigh injury in the first half of Saturday's loss to Luton; Howe is still in the dark over the severity of his concern though.

Lewis Miley was also an early withdrawal at Kenilworth Road, although Howe insisted that the 17-year-old's exit was for tactical and precautionary reasons, and he may now be afforded a complete rest if Joelinton's thigh issue clears up in time for Tuesday.

Sandro Tonali (suspended), Joe Willock (calf), Harvey Barnes (foot), Nick Pope (shoulder), Elliot Anderson (back), Jacob Murphy (shoulder), Javi Manquillo (groin) and Matt Targett (thigh) remain on the Newcastle absentee list, and Lascelles's possible absence will benefit Sven Botman's chances of a recall to the XI.

Howe and Santo can empathise over defensive concerns this week, as Boly has incurred a one-game ban owing to his contentious sending-off against Bournemouth, which opens the door for Moussa Niakhate to partner Murillo in the Reds' starting lineup.

Felipe could also return from a muscular problem to reinforce the visitors' defence further, while Ibrahim Sangare (groin) and Serge Aurier (calf) are also touch-and-go for the contest, but Taiwo Awoniyi will be missing for months with his serious groin issue.

A rare Premier League start for Divock Origi was cut short after Boly's dismissal, but the former Liverpool man looked a threat in the early stages of Saturday's game and could be given another go on the right-hand side.

Newcastle United possible starting lineup:
Dubravka; Trippier, Schar, Botman, Livramento; Longstaff, Guimaraes, Joelinton; Almiron, Isak, Gordon

Nottingham Forest possible starting lineup:
Turner; Williams, Niakhate, Murillo, Toffolo; Mangala, Yates; Origi, Gibbs-White, Elanga; Wood

We say: Newcastle United 2-1 Nottingham Forest

While Newcastle's incredible streak of home successes cannot be overlooked, the confidence-sapped Magpies will not have it all their own way against a Forest crop seeking retribution for a perceived sense of injustice at the weekend.

Howe's decimated backline should not be expected to emerge from Tuesday's fixture unscathed, but with Santo also needing more time to solve Forest's defensive conundrum, Newcastle's effervescent attackers should have the wherewithal to make it eight home Premier League wins on the spin.


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