Newcastle United head to the capital this afternoon for their Premier League clash with Crystal Palace and Eddie Howe may be forced to make changes.
The Magpies will be hoping they can get back on track after a disappointing defeat to West Ham on Monday night at St James’ Park, as their battle to qualify for European football continues.
Newcastle are currently tenth in the Premier League table, but could climb as sixth with a win away from home today if the results of those above them go their way.
Eddie Howe will be desperate to restore the confidence in his squad after their 2-0 loss, and a trip to Selhurst Park could be the perfect turning point to develop some consistency and show resilience when the opportunity to climb the table was missed earlier in the week.
Palace are currently 19th in the table after a troubling start for Oliver Glasner, the Eagles have not won in their last three Premier League outings which presents a fantastic opportunity for the Magpies to capitalise on their plight.
In terms of injuries, Newcastle have been no strangers to losing key players throughout the season so far and Howe could now face a challenge to select his starting eleven.
Brazilian sensation Bruno Guimaraes and talented midfielder Joe Willock both left the pitch early on Monday evening and will now be subjected to a late fitness test in the race to get them ready for the clash in the capital this afternoon.
The Newcastle boss took to his pre-match press conference to offer further insight into their conditions:
“Joe took a bang, a nasty whack trying to block a shot just above the ankle, so he lost a little bit of feeling in his leg. It went a bit numb for a while. But it looks like he has improved quickly.”
On Guimaraes, Howe revealed:
“Physically, he felt a muscle problem, but fingers crossed he is another one who is improving. They’re not serious injuries. We’ll make a decision today.”
How could Newcastle line up vs Crystal Palace?
Given the injury concerns, Nothing but Newcastle predicts Howe will make three changes to his side that lost to West Ham, maintaining his usual 4-3-3 formation.
In the defensive set up, we expect to see Nick Pope, Tino Livramento, Fabian Schar and Lewis Hall retain their spots in the starting eleven, with only one change to the line up.
Dan Burn will be eligible to start in the clash with Palace after serving a one-match ban for tallying up too many bookings and will likely make an instant return to the back four to resume his centre-back partnership with Schar, leaving Lloyd Kelly on the bench.
Due to a mid-week clash with Liverpool, there may be a chance that Guimaraes is rested to prevent the risk of irritating his minor injury sustained against the Hammers, so it could be a great opportunity for Sandro Tonali to step in.
The Italian talent has been overlooked for the starting line up on most occasions this season, however, this could be the chance he has been desperate for to prove his worth to Howe while Guimaraes rests.
We predict that Tonali will be joined by Joelinton and Sean Longstaff to complete the midfield trio, with Joelinton moving back into the centre of the pitch to accommodate the potential of Willock not being fit enough to start.
In the attacking threat, we expect to see just one change with Jacob Murphy resuming his role on the right flank in place of Anthony Gordon who will return to the left side of the triple attacking threat.
Despite Callum Wilson making his first appearance in the side this season on Monday night from the bench, he is unlikely to displace Swedish star Alexander Isak in the striker role.