_Jordan Cronin, Newcastle United writer at Newcastle World_
**On Newcastle’s season so far…**
Inconsistent, but that’s every Premier League team apart from Liverpool at the moment, isn’t it?! But, also, it’s been an underwhelming start thus far. Without Europe this season, many had hoped Newcastle could reach the heights of 2022-23 when they qualified for the Champions League, but they’ve not looked anywhere near achieving that to date unfortunately.
**On Newcastle’s key players…**
If there is ever a player that can do damage to any team in world football then it is Isak. Hall has been a real standout this season too, the 20-year-old has really come into his own since completing his big-money move from Chelsea in the summer. He was fully deserving of his England call-up last month. Gordon has largely been out of sorts this season compared to what we have been used to, but I wouldn’t bet against the Merseyside-born winger turning it up.
**On Howe’s playing style and whether he has made any changes in his approach…**
Historically, Howe has set up his team to outrun and outfight the opposition, and while we’ve seen glimpses of that against the likes of Spurs and Arsenal, it hasn’t been anything close to consistent enough this season. Most opponents now are happy to sit in against Newcastle and let them have the ball. When that happens, Newcastle have tended to struggle to find the answer.
**Predicted line-up...**
(4-3-3): Nick Pope, Tino Livramento, Fabian Schar, Dan Burn, Lewis Hall; Sandro Tonali, Bruno Guimaraes, Joe Willock; Anthony Gordon, Joelinton, Alexander Isak.