With kick-off just a few hours away, we’ve predicted the Newcastle United side Eddie Howe could opt for in today’s lunchtime clash with Aston Villa.
Here’s what we’ve gone for, featuring ONE change from last weekend:
(4-4-1-1): Pope – Trippier, Schar, Botman, Burn – Murphy, Bruno, Joelinton, Willock – Isak – Wilson.
I can see Howe making a few changes to the side that struggled in the first half at Brentford, as we may not get away with such a poor 45 minutes against a much improved Aston Villa.
I’m confident Callum Wilson comes back into the side. He bagged a brace at West Ham and made a real impact off the bench last time out, linking up superbly with Alexander Isak.
We can expect Villa to sit fairly deep, limit space and look to hit us with pace on the counter, so two strikers and additional threat in the box could help break down what has been a pretty stubborn defence.
Longstaff was taken off at the break at Brentford and isn’t the quickest – he could struggle in transition against their pace – so I think we could see Joelinton partner Bruno in midfield after they ended our last game so strongly.
That would mean Joe Willock down the left in Saint-Maximin’s absence and Jacob Murphy down the right. Miguel Almiron won’t be ready to start just yet and I can see Anthony Gordon remaining an impact sub for now, giving Murphy another chance to impress.
At the back, we were all at sea early on at Brentford but settled in the second half, so I can’t see any changes in that department; even if Matt Targett is itching to play against his former club.
