Both Lewis Hall and Tino Livramento got the bulk of their minutes in a Newcastle United shirt in Sunday’s 8-0 demolition of Sheffield United. But, was this the first step of Eddie Howe easing both players in or was it just due to the scoreline?
It seems unlikely that Hall would have been brought on had the scoreline been closer on Sunday, due to the fact he hasn’t featured in any of our previous six games this season. Livramento’s only other appearance was a four-minute cameo in last month’s 1-0 defeat to Man City, so he will certainly have benefited from almost half an hour on the pitch at Bramall Lane.
One interesting point to note from their cameos on Sunday was the immediate change in formation, where we went to a back five and saw both both occupy the wing back roles. They’re both attacking full-backs with bags of energy and ability, so it makes you wonder if we could see that system should the pair start tonight?
Dan Burn remained on the pitch despite United winning 6-0 at that point, filling in on the left side of three centre-backs. Howe takes great pride in his clean sheets, and rightly so, but I was intrigued by the change of formation. If he didn’t fancy Hall to play in a back four when we were 6-0 up, will he play there against the treble winners on tonight?
Howe’s spoken about Lewis not being up to speed, fitness wise, in comparison to his teammates, as a reason for his omission thus far. It’s worth noting he played very little over pre-season at Mauricio Pochettino’s Chelsea, which explains why he’s had to play catch up from a fitness perspective over the past six weeks.
Howe clearly favours the leadership, physicality and defensive qualities that Dan Burn offers, even if he has to sacrifice attacking output. It is almost certain that Lewis Hall will be our future left back, at least until he develops into a potential central midfielder, as he profiles himself as. But the more games that pass by and as the side begins to pick up form, I wonder how far in the future that may be?
It would be very surprising to not see Livramento start tonight. Howe will want to manage Trippier’s fitness, especially with Burnley and PSG to come over the next week. Tino deserves his chance, and it will be an opportunity to showcase his talents against top-level opposition. After a long spell out with an ACL and some stunning form form for Southampton before that injury, he’ll be itching to play and needs more than late cameos to build his match fitness, sharpness and confidence.
It will be a disappointing if Hall is not given the opportunity to play in front of the home fans against an expected ‘weaker’ City side. Would that mean a change in formation to accommodate both players, could Hall play in midfield, or will Howe install trust in them both to show why we’ve invested £60m in the highly-rated duo?
