Newcastle United take on Liverpool on New Year's Day at Anfield and another defeat would mean the Magpies will have suffered seven defeats in their last eight matches.
Pressure is certainly building on head coach Eddie Howe as the Geordie outfit sit seven points behind fourth-place in the Premier League, although Manchester City have two games in hand, meaning this gap could become even wider over the coming days.
Several players underperformed during Newcastle's 3-1 defeat at home to Nottingham Forest on Boxing Day and Howe will need to change something quickly to ease some pressure off his back.
Newcastle's game in numbers vs Forest
Creating chances wasn't an issue for the Magpies on Tuesday afternoon. The northeast side had 19 shots on goal which recorded an expected goals total of 2.43, although the data was slightly skewed as a result of Alexander Isak's penalty. Nevertheless, this averages out at roughly 0.13 xG per 90, meaning that each opportunity had a 13% chance of finding the net on average which isn't too bad.
According to FotMob, Newcastle also missed three big chances, showing that Howe's men simply didn't have their shooting boots on and should have scored more than once throughout the game.
However, the biggest worry for the manager will be how many opportunities his side let the visitors have. Nottingham Forest had fewer shots, boasting 15 in total, but had five big chances and ended the game with an xG of 3.46 and had more than double Newcastle's xG total from open play as Chris Wood ran riot at his old stomping ground, scoring a hattrick.
The away team were more than happy to cede possession and hit Newcastle on the break and it was in transition that the Tricky Trees did the most damage, with one player in particular struggling to deal with the visitors' pace on the counterattack.
Dan Burn's game in numbers vs Forest
The player who struggled the most for Newcastle United on Boxing Day was Dan Burn. The 31-year-old was exposed by Forest's pace in behind time and time again by Anthony Elanga on that side and was even skinned for Wood's second goal as Nuno's men took the lead before he was replaced by Tino Livramento in the 55th minute.
In possession, the 6 foot 7 defender also struggled, playing just one ball into the final third throughout the game and completing merely 74% of his total passes, losing possession seven times. Furthermore, Burn boasted only 33 touches of the ball during the match which was even less than goalkeeper Martin Dubravka, who had 35 touches, as per FotMob.
Defensively, Burn lost 50% of his ground duels and 50% of his tackles, making just three ball recoveries and one interception before being given the curly finger by the manager before the hour mark.
After the game, Chronicle Live handed the ex-Fulham star a 4/10 match rating. Having come on as his replacement, Livramento won 100% of his ground duels, recorded the same number of interceptions as Burn and even made more ball recoveries.
Minutes Played
55
Shots
1
Expected Goals
0.06
Expected Assists
0
Passing Accuracy %
74%
Touches
33
Dispossessed
1
Tackles Won
1
Interceptions
1
Clearances
2
Defensive Actions
5
Ball Recoveries
3
Dribbled Past
1
Stats via FotMob
With Liverpool on the horizon, and Mohamed Salah being in fine goalscoring form once again this season, Howe should consider whether he wants Burn going up against one of the most potent attackers in world football on the right-hand side.