'They'll get relegated' - Paul Merson delivers stark Newcastle United warning ahead of 'massive' clash vs Brentford

New Newcastle Head Coach Eddie Howe (c) pictured at his unveiling press conference with Directors Amanda Staveley and Mehrdad Ghodoussi. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)

The Toon Army host Brentford on Saturday afternoon, and will be looking to add to their tally of five points from 11 matches. With Norwich City beating Brentford before the international break, Newcastle are now the only team in the top flight still yet to win a game.

For their part, the Bees will be looking to bounce back from that result, and will be hoping to avoid a fifth straight league defeat.

Standing in their way will be Howe, who will be aiming to get his tenure on Tyneside off to a winning start.

And Merson is optimistic about his chances of doing exactly that.

Speaking to Sportskeeda, the popular pundit said: “This is a massive game of football in the Premier League.

"Newcastle United finally have a new manager in Eddie Howe and they have three winnable games at home coming up. If they don't get at least seven points in this period, they'll get relegated. They have a terrible run of games after that, so they'll have to make the most of this one.

“I fancy them to get a narrow victory at home against Brentford.”

Merson has predicted a 1-0 Newcastle win.

The two sides have only ever played each other 12 times in all competitions, with the Toon Army winning on eight occasions.

Their last clash – a Carabao Cup quarter-final – ended in a 1-0 Brentford victory.