Newcastle United round off their preparations for the new Premier League season by hosting the inaugural Sela Cup this weekend.
Having faced Aston Villa, Chelsea and Brighton & Hove Albion in the Premier League Summer Series in the United States, Eddie Howe’s side once again go up against high-profile opposition in Fiorentina and Villarreal.
Playing on both Saturday and Sunday, Howe is expected to field two different starting XIs, like he did versus Chelsea and Brighton last week, to ensure his squad gain the required minutes in preparation for the long campaign ahead.
Howe is yet to decide his starting XI for the league opener against Villa in 10 days’ time - but is minutes played in pre-season anything to go by? Adopting that theory, NewcastleWorld takes a look at how Howe’s first starting line-up of the season looks currently.
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1. GK: Nick Pope / Martin Dubravka - 135 minutes
2. RB: Kieran Trippier - 237 minutes
3. CB: Sven Botman - 180 minutes
4. CB: Dan Burn - 262 minutes