Eddie Howe hasn’t ruled out the possibility of making changes to his Newcastle United starting XI for this evening’s clash at English and European champions Manchester City (kick-off 8pm).
The Magpies hammered Aston Villa 5-1 in their Premier League opener last weekend. Alexander Isak netted a brace and Sandro Tonali marked his debut with a goal, while Callum Wilson and Harvey Barnes both came on as substitutes and scored.
“I still have decisions to make because I’m not necessarily the type of manager that will look at a winning team and then automatically think, because we’ve won, pick the same team,” said Howe during his pre-match press conference.
“For me, it’s always around what the game will be like, if we need a different way of playing so I’ll always analyse the game that way. I might end up picking the same team, I may not, but I’ll always look at it independently."
So, will Howe make a change or changes? Or will he keep faith with last Saturday’s line-up? Here’s the Newcastle United starting XI we’re predicting Howe to name:
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1. GK: Nick Pope
Pope wasn’t called into action too often against Aston Villa but did produce some standout saves.
2. RB: Kieran Trippier
An automatic pick, although Tino Livramento will have something to say about that in the near future.
3. CB: Fabian Schar
The Swiss star made a return to the side last weekend after a hamstring injury forced him out of the three final pre-season games.
4. CB: Sven Botman
Picked up where he left off last season with a solid display against Villa. The Dutchman even claimed an assist for Alexander Isak’s first goal.