Newcastle United return to action in the Premier League this afternoon to face Fulham at Craven Cottage after the first international break of the season.

The Magpies only played two games in September, due to their clash with West Ham United being postponed, and picked up two points as they held Bournemouth and Crystal Palace to draws.

Eddie Howe's side sit 10th in the table as it stands and have not won a match in the top-flight since their 2-0 win against newly-promoted Nottingham Forest on the opening day of the season.

Alexander Isak scored Newcastle's only goal, from the penalty spot, in their last match against Bournemouth and he is set to miss out against Fulham after suffering an injury on international duty.

Howe must now unleash Callum Wilson, who has previously been hailed as a "unique" player by Graeme Jones, from the start to replace the Swedish forward as the ex-Cherries striker is set to make his comeback from an injury of his own this weekend.

Of teams he has scored three or more goals against in the Premier League, Huddersfield - who are now in the Championship - are the only team he has a better record against in terms of goals per match than the Cottagers. He has scored three goals in three top-flight appearances against them in his career for Newcastle and Bournemouth combined.

Wilson loves playing against Fulham, as his goal record shows, and his form at the start of this season suggests that he has a good chance of adding to his tally against Marco Silva's side.

He scored two goals in three starts in August before suffering an injury as he found the back of the net against Manchester City and Nottingham Forest.

The gem is a proven Premier League goalscorer and Howe knows that he has the quality to be relied upon at the top end of the pitch, after scoring eight goals in 16 starts last term and 12 goals in 23 starts in 2020/21 for the Magpies.

Therefore, the £46k-per-week forward, who was once described as a "predator in the box" by Andrew Musgrove, must be unleashed from the start to replace Isak in the starting line-up.

He knows how to score goals at this level and, statistically, there is no team he loves scoring against at a higher rate in the current Premier League than Fulham, which is why he should be included in the XI from the start.