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The latest team news, injury updates and predicted line-up for Newcastle ahead of their Premier League showdown with Ipswich.
Newcastle United have the opportunity to win their third game on the bounce when they travel down to Portman Road to take on Ipswich Town this Saturday – but manager Eddie Howe will have to make do without as many as six first-team players.
Joelinton and Nick Pope are among the players unavailable in the Premier League this weekend through injury or suspension and we’ve got the latest updates on all Newcastle’s missing players below alongside a predicted starting line-up for the two teams’ first meeting in over seven and a half years.
If you’re here looking for any information or injury updates ahead of the Fantasy Premier League deadline, you can also find our resident expert’s latest hints and tips column for the Christmas period by clicking here.
Goalkeeper & Defence
Pope picked up a knee injury in the recent 4-2 league defeat to Brentford after passing a ball, an incident which Howe described as “innocuous-looking” but which will also keep the Magpies’ first-choice goalkeeper would be out for around a month, according to a specialist. That means that back-up Martin Dúbravka will deputise for at least the next five games.
The only remaining fitness concerns across the back four are all long-standing – Emil Krafth (shoulder) is expected to be out of action until mid-January and neither Sven Botman nor Jamaal Lascelles (both ACL) are ready to return. Dutchman Botman is getting close to some game time, however, and was recently described by Howe as “on track” to return to the match day squad at the very end of December or early in the New Year. Newcastle are likely to stick with their regular back four of Lewis Hall, Dan Burn, Fabian Schär and Tino Livramento on Saturday.
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Midfield
Only one midfielder is expected to miss out on Saturday – Joelinton picked up his fifth yellow card of the campaign during the 4-0 win over Leicester City and will miss the Ipswich game as a consequence.
Had he not been suspended, the Brazilian may have missed out anyway after he was substituted during the EFL Cup quarter-final win over Brentford after sustaining a “quite nasty” cut to his ear. That injury will be assessed but is not expected to force him to miss time. Sandro Tonali, who scored twice in that win, is one booking away from a one-match ban of his own, as is centre-half Schär.
Forwards
There was yet more bad news for the luckless Callum Wilson last week, when it was confirmed that the former Bournemouth striker had sustained a hamstring injury which would keep him out until February – he was on the verge of returning from a back problem, but his comeback will have to wait.
With Wilson still unavailable, Howe will most likely stick with the front three which helped Newcastle to score seven goals in their last two matches, with Anthony Gordon and Jacob Murphy flanking Alexander Isak.
Dúbravka; Hall, Burn, Schär, Livramento; Longstaff, Tonali, Bruno Guimarães; Gordon, Murphy, Isak.
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