Eddie Howe might have to show some tactical flexibility to solve the goal crisis at Newcastle United.
The lack of goals being scored by Newcastle United this season will be ringing alarm bells for Eddie Howe.
Newcastle have only scored eight goals in their eight Premier League matches so far – only five top-flight teams have scored fewer.
| Position | Team | Played MP | Won W | Drawn D | Lost L | For GF | Against GA | Diff GD | Points Pts |
| 8 |  NewcastleNewcastle | 8 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 12 |
Alexander Isak in particular has struggled during the early stages of the season and he lacked sharpness against Brighton after returning from his toe injury.
Harvey Barnes remains Newcastle’s top scorer this season with three goals, which only adds to the concerns given that he has only started four of the league matches.
Newcastle have still made a fairly strong start to the league campaign and are still eighth in the table, but the lack of goals is something Howe will want to address urgently.
Alexander Isak could be handed new role
Newcastle’s last goal from open play came exactly one month ago in the 3-1 defeat to Fulham. Since then, Newcastle’s only goals came in penalties against Manchester City and AFC Wimbledon.
Ultimately, Newcastle have looked toothless against well-organised defences and a tactical tweak may be needed to offer fresh ideas and get the side scoring again.
One option open to Howe is a role change for Alexander Isak to help the 25-year-old rediscover the form which saw him score 25 times last season.
Howe’s preference since taking charge at Newcastle has been to deploy a 4-3-3 system with either Isak or Callum Wilson as a sole striker.
However, a glance at Howe’s managerial career shows he enjoyed huge success with a 4-4-2 system at Bournemouth when he led them to the Premier League.
With Wilson returning to full fitness, a two-striker system would allow Howe to partner Isak and Wilson together up front so they can share the goalscoring duties. It would also allow the likes of Anthony Gordon and Harvey Barnes to stay out wide while having more options available in the box.
As pointed out by The Athletic, Howe has previously experimented playing Isak and Wilson alongside each other, with Isak also dropping back into a “9.5” position which would allow him to pick up the ball deeper and link with the midfield.
Alternatively, £10m summer signing William Osula could partner Isak up front after getting his first taste of first-team football at Newcastle in recent weeks.
Alexander Isak has thrived in a striker partnership
Swapping to a strike partnership would not be an uncomfortable change for Isak, in fact, it is a system he has thrived in.
One glance at Isak’s form with the Swedish national team shows that Isak has been prolific in a strike partnership alongside Viktor Gyokeres.
READ MORE: Dan Burn says ‘world class’ Newcastle player will be ‘disappointed’ with his performance vs Brighton
Isak scored three goals in two Nations League matches for Sweden in September before he missed the October squad with his broken toe.
Swedish media raved about Isak’s performances alongside Gyokeres, with the two world-class strikers creating a deadly partnership.
Howe could replicate that at Newcastle with either Wilson or Osula.
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