Thanks to a barrage of Will Osula stepovers and a returning number nine, United squeezed past League One opposition in the fourth round of the FA Cup on Saturday.

After beating a rough-and-tumble Birmingham side, they will face Premier League Brighton at home in the next round. Is there another deep cup run on the cards? As the competition reaches its closing stages, Newcastle appear to be one of the favourites to go far.

As always, it’s Sam here, and welcome to this week’s edition of the Toon Review!

Bruised but not beaten

Anyone thinking that Howe’s side would have a simple task on their hands against Third Division Birmingham was proved emphatically wrong inside the opening minutes on Saturday early evening, as the hosts went ahead through an Ethan Laird goal that tore the roof off St Andrews’. What followed were four more goals, a hell of a lot of crunching tackles and a thunderbolt from Birmingham’s Japanese midfielder Tomoki Iwata. Crucially though, what also followed was a hard-fought win for Newcastle, despite the physical efforts of the Blues.

The win was a pleasing one for a number of reasons, one being the return to fitness and to the lineup for United’s talismanic number nine, Callum Wilson, who has found game time hard to come by due primarily to prolonged injury struggles. His goal, which gave Newcastle a 2-1 lead on 26 minutes, was converted in typical Wilson-style, stabbing home decisively after a goal-mouth scramble that admittedly left Birmingham goalkeeper Bailey Peacock-Farrell in no man’s land. It will be vital if Howe can rely on two top-class strikers down the stretch of the season, especially given Alexander Isak’s high usage and subsequent injury risk. Either side of Wilson’s goal were two goals from midfielder Joe Willock, who has also been seldom used in the middle of the park in recent weeks. Given the tough time he has had off the pitch, it was great to see Joe netting the late goal to send United through to the next round of the competition.

Young forward Will Osula also provided a glimpse into how dynamic and electrifying he can be when given a chance, which has been rare in his debut season on Tyneside. He turned the opposition left-back inside and out throughout a first half in which he made that side of the pitch his own. For a side seemingly desperate to add a right-sided attacker via the transfer market, would it be a stretch to say that the best current option is an internal one? He may never usurp Isak’s dominion up front, but a front three of Osula, Isak and Anthony Gordon is terrifying on paper. The lad doesn’t just have bags of stepovers, he has bags of potential. Maybe Howe will give him more opportunities from now until the end of the campaign.

Next up in the FA Cup? Brighton in the last 16, scheduled for the first weekend of March.

What Howe Said

“If we didn’t know how difficult it was going to be beforehand, it was certainly a sobering start to the game. The biggest credit I can give the players is how we responded to that.”

“We definitely got more control in the second half.”

On the physicality of the game: “We didn’t do well for the first goal, but we stood up pretty well to the physical test after that.”

On Will Osula’s performance: “He showed his pace, strength and technical ability. He’s still got some rough edges to improve and work on, but he did really well.”

On Joe Willock’s performance: “Two massive goals for us today. Really pleased with how he took the second one because it was a big moment for us. We didn’t want extra time!”

On Dan Burn’s potential injury: “It looks like a groin problem for Dan. We hope it’s not too bad because he’s been such an important and reliable player for us.”

The Rumour Mill

The Magpies have rejected an offer from Galatasaray for Kieran Trippier. (Caught Offside)

The agent of Sandro Tonali has played down the chances of the player returning to Serie A because of the cost involved in buying him. (Calciomercato)

Newcastle are planning a £33.3 million move for PSV’s Johan Bakayoko in the summer. (Tuttosport)

Newcastle are set to beat Barcelona and Real Madrid to the free transfer signing of 18-year-old Spanish winger Antonio Cordero, whose Malaga contract expires this summer. (Mail)

On this day

With Martin Dubravka playing so well of late, let’s focus on the Slovakian’s sensational debut for Newcastle against Manchester United, which happened on this day back in 2018.

Dubravka started his first game in goal in front of a back line featuring DeAndre Yedlin, Jamaal Lascelles, Florian Lejeune and Paul Dummett. This unit would end up keeping a brilliant clean sheet, with the debutant goalkeeper being at the forefront of the defensive effort.

A lone goal from Matt Ritchie gave the Magpies what was at the time a shock victory over the Red Devils.

A look ahead to Saturday

Manchester City (A)

In a traditional 3 o’clock kickoff on Saturday afternoon, Howe’s side will travel to the Etihad Stadium to face a Manchester City side still trying to make the most of a so-far disappointing season for them. After many regulars were rested at the weekend against Birmingham, United should be able to field a full-strength starting 11.

Every chance at three points is critical now, but it seems more vital against potential rivals for European football. Having missed out on points in the league against sides such as Fulham and Bournemouth, Newcastle need to start picking up points wherever they can get them, to keep themselves well in the race for a European spot at the end of the campaign.

HWTL.

Toon trivia

Last week’s question was a tough one, so well done to all of you who got it right! The starting lineup that Newcastle fielded in their Carabao Cup final against Manchester United in 2022 was as follows: Loris Karius, Kieran Trippier, Fabian Schär, Sven Botman, Dan Burn, Bruno Guimaraes, Sean Longstaff, Joelinton, Miguel Almiron, Allan Saint-Maximin and Callum Wilson.

This week, with City on the cards on Saturday, let’s see who can get this one right. Who were Newcastle’s goalscorers in the 3-3 draw played between the two sides in August 2022?

That’s all for this week. See you all next week!