The starting XI for Newcastle United to face Wolverhampton Wanderers practically picks itself due to injuries.
Eddie Howe won’t have such a hard time selecting his squad for tomorrow’s trip to Wolves due to the number of injuries the squad is currently carrying.
It would be nice for the Magpies boss to be able to rotate a few players, especially with the current fixture congestion, but fate has taken that option away.
This is how we see Newcastle lining up tomorrow evening at Molineux:
Goalkeeper
As usual, it will be Nick Pope between the sticks. He’s been in pretty decent form recently.
Defence
With Sven Botman still a little way off from a return to action, the back four will be unchanged again. Kieran Trippier and Dan Burn flanking the centre-back pairing of Jamaal Lascelles and Fabian Schär.
There is a case to be made for Matt Targett replacing Burn if Howe wants to go more attacking, though, especially after the former Aston Villa and Southampton man’s cameo on Wednesday night.
Midfield
We don’t expect any changes here either, with Sandro Tonali likely to be named on the bench after it was revealed that he’s still available for selection.
It would likely be too risky for Howe to plan to have Tonai start, however, just in case the ban is ratified before the game. Therefore it’ll be Joelinton, Bruno Guimarães, and Sean Longstaff in the middle again.
Forwards
This will be the one change to Wednesday’s starting lineup with Alexander Isak set to be missing for a while.
Callum Wilson will lead the line with support on the wings from Anthony Gordon and Miguel Almirón. We’d have gone with Jacob Murphy over Miggy were it not for Murphy’s shoulder injury.
Could we mix things up due to the Carabao Cup?
With a Carabao Cup tie against Manchester United coming up, there is scope for Howe to make a few changes and bring in Tino Livramento and/or Lewis Hall. If he’s going to do that he’s more likely to do it in the cup fixture, though.
Having said that, it’s more likely Matt Targett would get the nod over Lewis Hall right now with the youngster seemingly yet to meet Eddie Howe’s lofty standards.
To be honest, we’d prefer Howe go full-strength in the cup, as we owe Manchester United one!
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