Newcastle United reveal Anthony Gordon & Joelinton concern after Manchester City omission
Newcastle United boss Eddie Howe was unable to start Anthony Gordon and Joelinton against Manchester City.
Eddie Howe made four changes to his Newcastle United starting XI for the 3-1 FA Cup fifth round defeat to Manchester City on Saturday night.
The Magpies took the lead in the 18th minute through Harvey Barnes before Savinho equalised in the closing stages of the first half. Omar Marmoush then netted a second-half brace to put the game out of sight.
Howe sprung a surprise with his team selection by dropping Anthony Gordon, Joelinton and Dan Burn to the bench. Jacob Ramsey sat out due to suspension as Will Osula, Joe Willock, Nick Woltemade and Sven Botman came into the starting line-up.
It was a quadruple move that paid off for the opening 25 minutes, as United dominated. However, after that, City took control to claim victory, which put the spotlight back on the team selection.
Anthony Gordon and Joelinton knocks
In response, Howe revealed Gordon and Joelinton’s omissions were enforced, with both players carrying knocks from the 2-1 win over Manchester United on Wednesday night. Burn, meanwhile, was a choice.
However, it didn’t prevent Joelinton and Gordon from entering the pitch after coming on in the 62nd and 72nd minute, respectively.
Howe said: “I think we're in a difficult spot because we're trying to get through the games and perform and to win, but we're also trying to navigate and keep players fit, which is very, very difficult to do.
“The combination of the two, I don't think we've got the strength at the moment to make loads of changes and keep the same strength in our performance. We tried to do it with a couple of key players today that we had to protect.
“Anthony Gordon's come in with an ankle problem, we had to protect him today. We had to protect Joelinton today with past experience. These players are too big to lose.
“Dan Burn was more of a choice to play Sven. Sven's a top-quality player. Other than that, we were near enough at full strength.”
Nick Woltemade midfield experiment continues
With Bruno Guimaraes and Lewis Miley injured, Ramsey banned and Joelinton not 100%, Howe once again started Woltemade in midfield after he recovered from an illness that kept him out against Man United in midweek.
Woltemade played 72 minutes before being replaced by Gordon and reflecting on his display, Howe said: “I think for any of our midfielders today, it was difficult because they keep the ball so well, they do what they do brilliantly. I think that's a difficult game for Nick when we're not in possession of the ball, his best qualities are going to be shown when we have the ball.
“But then I think you look at it a different way and go, ‘we had three fit and available players to play in there today’. Joelinton, we didn't want to start, we felt it was too big of an injury risk today, so we were running out of options in there.
“I thought he did a good job for the team, I've got no issue with his attitude, he's just come off the back of quite a bad illness actually, so to get through the minutes he did, I was pleased with him.
“He'll play a lot better than that and we'll play a lot better than that and see a better version of him in there I'm sure.”