Newcastle United star set to miss out on starting XI v Brentford as Eddie Howe reveals ‘problem’

Eddie Howe is facing one of his toughest Newcastle United selection calls to date ahead of Saturday afternoon’s clash against Brentford (kick-off 3pm).

With Howe’s hugely successful 4-3-3 formation allowing room for only one striker, the Magpies’ head coach will need to pick between Callum Wilson or Alexander Isak - and both players are bang in form.

Howe made the bold move of rotating Isak for Wilson at West Ham United on Wednesday. Wilson, after coming off the bench to score against Manchester United four days earlier, came up trumps once again with a brace in the 5-1 win in East London.

Isak, impressively, replicated Wilson’s Man United success. He to got on the scoresheet to register his fourth goal in as many games. Howe admits he is a tough decision to make, one he plans to leave until the last minute.

“I think I’ll leave that decision (Isak or Wilson) for another day,” Howe told reporters at the London Stadium. “I don’t think I’ll burn any energy thinking about that until I absolutely have to. They’re the problems you want to have. It’s a great situation for me to be in.

“I’ve been in other situations where you might not even have a player to fill the role. We’ve got two outstanding players, and I’ll try to make the right call for the next game.”

Asked by NewcastleWorld how he’ll approach the decision, Howe replied: “We’ll look at the opposition, as we always do, and try to pick the best team to win the game.”

Indeed, 37 per-cent of Newcastle’s 46 Premier League goals this campaign have been scored by Wilson (10) and Isak (7).

“You need goals. I want those options and those choices,” said Howe. “Now, the players have to understand when they’re playing and they’re not playing. Both players have to be honest.

“Alex was excellent about my decision [not to start him at West Ham], and proved that when he came on and scored. The roles were reversed when Callum didn’t start against Manchester United, and although Alex played really well, Callum came on and scored.

“It’s that competition that will hopefully drive both players on to give more.”

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