Newcastle United’s run of home games extends to three tonight, with a Carabao Cup clash against Tottenham following our league win over Fulham and Champions League victory over Benfica last Tuesday.
It’s a big opportunity to make the quarter-finals and move a step closer to defending the cup, but it won’t be easy against a Spurs side who are third in the league and unbeaten on the road this season.
But who will Eddie Howe select come 8pm? Here is the side we’re backing him to go with, following the boss’ [rotation hint](https://www.nufcblog.co.uk/2025/10/29/howe-drops-team-news-hint-ahead-of-newcastle-vs-spurs-7-ones-to-watch/) during yesterday’s press conference…
**(4-3-3)**: Ramsdale _– Krafth, Schar, Thiaw, Burn – Brun__o, Tonali, Ramsey – Elanga, Woltemade, Gordon._
This would mean SIX changes from Saturday’s 2-1 win over Fulham and the following moves:
1. Pope out – Ramsdale in
2. Botman out – Schar in
3. Trippier out – Krafth in
4. Miley out – Tonali in
5. Joelinton out – Ramsey in
6. Murphy out – Elanga in
In goal, **Ramsdale** started in our last Carabao Cup game and I think he’ll be given another chance to impress here. After all, if he’s not given a run of games in the cup, I’m not sure when he’ll get the game time needed to justify his loan and a potential permanent move next summer.
At the back, my team is on the basis we protect Botman for Sunday, given the Dutchman missed training on Monday after suffering a ‘nasty cut’ to his head. With that in mind, I think **Schar** comes in, with 35-year-old Trippier due a rest at right-back. I’m not sure he will play four times in 12 days, meaning this could be a rare chance for the usually reliable **Krafth** to come in.
In midfield, captain Bruno rarely misses games and seems to have the durability to play constantly, **Tonali** will return after recovering from a bug that kept him out of Howe’s XI in both matches last week, leaving one spot up for grabs on the left. Joelitnon put in a solid shift against Fulham, but I can see **Ramsey** coming back into the XI for this one.
In attack, I think Gordon keeps his place down the left and I think we’ll see 60 or 70 minutes of Woltemade before Osula comes on, as the Dane was superb from the bench on Saturday but has been managing an ankle issue. On the right, I think it’ll be **Elanga** or Barnes, but will edge towards the former, who could use a game like this to kickstart his Newcastle career.
How do you see us lining up? Let us know your predicted XI in the comments section below…