Newcastle United host Fulham in the Premier League this weekend, but what is the early team news for both sides?
Newcastle United will look to bounce back from their 2-1 defeat to Brighton last weekend when they host Fulham on Saturday.
The Magpies went down 2-1 on the south coast thanks to a Danny Welbeck brace, either side of Nick Woltemade’s equaliser. And while Eddie Howe’s men showed quick signs of recovery by beating Portuguese giants Benfica 3-0 in the Champions League on Tuesday, they’ll want to start climbing toward the upper reaches of the Premier League after taking just nine points from their first eight games of the season. However, Howe may have to cope without a clutch of key first-team players once again.
Newcastle United early team news vs Fulham
Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe.placeholder image
Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe. | AFP via Getty Images
England full-backs Tino Livramento and Lewis Hall are still recovering from respective knee and hamstring injuries, and are expected to remain sidelined for several weeks yet.
Meanwhile, Yoane Wissa is nearing a return to action and is back training on grass. However, the DR Congo man is not expected to make his Newcastle debut this weekend, with Wednesday’s EFL Cup tie against Tottenham Hotspur and, more prominently, the trip to West Ham United in the Premier League on 2nd November more realistic targets.
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But it isn’t all doom and gloom on the fitness front for Eddie Howe. Newcastle had to beat Benfica without the help of star midfielder Sandro Tonali, who had missed training in the build-up to the match due to illness. The Italian was named on the bench on Tuesday, but wasn’t required in the end.
In Tonali’s absence, Lewis Miley picked up 90 valuable minutes, while Jacob Ramsey lasted just over an hour, and Bruno Guimaraes was brought off right at the end for Joe Willock. And while Howe will be confident in his options without Tonali, the former AC Milan man is expected to return to the starting line-up on Saturday, giving Newcastle a huge boost in the midfield battle against Fulham.
Fulham early team news vs Newcastle United
Fulham manager Marco Silva.placeholder image
Fulham manager Marco Silva. | Getty Images
The outlook is far more bleak for Marco Silva, who could be without six senior players at St. James’ Park. Defender Joachim Andersen picked up a hamstring injury in the narrow defeat to Arsenal last weekend and is unlikely to return for a couple of weeks. He joins Antonee Robinson in what is a hefty defensive fitness headache for Silva. "It is a muscle injury," the Portuguese boss said last weekend. "Something in his hamstring. We need to see if it's something more serious now. We miss the backline completely. That is our reality right now."
Additionally, Sasa Lukic and Rodrigo Muniz both look set to miss this weekend’s match, while Tom Cairney will be the subject of a late fitness test. Winger Samuel Chukwueze picked up a calf injury while on international duty with Nigeria, resulting in him missing the clash with Arsenal last time out, and he looks set for a few more weeks on the treatment table yet.
This all presents Fulham with a tall task in the North East, especially considering they’re enduring a run of three straight Premier League defeats - though they did do the double over Newcastle last season.
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