Christian Atsu absent as Newcastle suffer fourth straight defeat

Ghana star Christian Atsu was in the stands to watch Watford condemn his Newcastle United to a fourth straight Premier League defeat with a comfortable 3-0 away win.

Atsu could not recover in time from a thigh/groin injury he aggravated while on international duty to be part of the action at the St James' Park on Saturday.

And in his absence, Rafa Benitez's side looked short of threat up front, with two efforts from Joselu their only shots on target.

Newcastle's fourth straight defeat sees them slip down to 13th in the table, while Watford's fourth away win of the season leaves them in eighth.

They will be hoping to have their key winger Atsu fit for their next assignment, which is a trip to London to face Chelsea.