Newcastle United put Anthony Gordon replacement on standby for Man City

Newcastle United could deploy Joe Willock on the left-wing against Manchester City - if Anthony Gordon is not passed fit.

A quad injury forced Gordon to miss the FA Cup fourth round win at Birmingham City on Saturday, and it remains to be seen whether he will return in time for Saturday’s trip to the Etihad Stadium.

“Yes, I know we hope so,” Eddie Howe said when asked if Gordon would return versus Man City. “We've treated the cups the same for the past few years. Everyone that's fit we take. So he's not here today, which means he's obviously got a problem.”

With Joelinton and Harvey Barnes sidelined, and Miguel Almiron no longer at the club after re-joining MLS side Atlanta United last month, the Magpies are light on bodies in the wide areas.

As a result, Howe moved Willock from central midfield into the wide left position against Birmingham. And the former Arsenal man responded by scoring a brace.

Howe’s post-match comments regarding Willock suggests he could use the 25-year-old out wide again.

“It was interesting to see him there tonight, because obviously Anthony's injury, we played Joe in his position as a wide left player, I thought he did really well,” said Howe.

“I thought he's got the running capacity to play in that position, it is very different to playing infield, but he's got the pace to take players on and engage in those one-v-one actions.

“But he's also got the technique to come into pockets, and come inside and use his right foot, I thought he looked a threat throughout the game.

“The beauty of Joe when he does play inside as a midfielder, he drifts wide a lot anyway, so I think he's really comfortable in those wide areas.”

Joe Willock and getting back to his best

Willock was hugely influential during Newcastle’s Champions League qualification campaign, forming a strong partnership with Joelinton down the left, but a hamstring issue and long-term Achilles injury meant he barely featured last season.

This term, Willock has mostly been available but a lack of form has seen him struggle to force his way into the starting XI on a regular basis. But Howe hopes his performance against Birmingham can be the start of Willock getting back to his best.

“Yeah, really pleased for him,” Howe told NewcastleWorld. “I think he's such a talented lad. We really want to see Joe at his best. It's been a stop-start season for him, but today's a big moment.

“I think the two goals are typical, Joe. I was really pleased with the second one because, from our perspective, we desperately didn't want extra time, but we didn't have a second half with lots of goal-scoring opportunities.

“So we needed to be clinical when they came and thankfully Joe was.”