Eddie Howe has changed things up at Newcastle United ahead of their Champions League clash against Athletic Bilbao on Wednesday night.
The Champions League has proven a welcome relief for Newcastle United this season as Howe’s side continue to labour in the Premier League.
Indeed, they have won two of their three games thus far and look well-placed to secure safe progress into the knock-out rounds.
Owners PIF are expecting Newcastle to reach the next stage of the Champions League and that is certainly not an unreasonable target.
Still, to do that, Howe needs a response. His side were dreadful at West Ham on Sunday and while a win on Wednesday would not answer every single problem, it would at least lift the mood somewhat.
Ahead of the game, the Newcastle United manager took an interesting step.
Eddie Howe reacts during a Newcastle United Champions League training session.
Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images
Eddie Howe could change Newcastle United’s shape against Athletic Bilbao
As reported by Keith Downie of Sky Sports, Howe appeared to be working on the shape of the Newcastle team.
While that is to be expected during a training session of course, Downie noticed that it was slightly different this time around.
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It would be interesting to see if Howe does change things up. He has generally deployed a 4-3-3 system since he arrived at the club, but the West Ham performance was so bleak that perhaps a change is needed.
“We were at open training this morning up at the club’s training ground as they prepare for the game,” said Downie.
“It was a little bit of a different setup and shape to normal.
“I don’t know whether perhaps Eddie was trying to give the players a little bit extra shape or training on the back of that defeat on Sunday.
“Normally the players come straight out and do their warm-up, but on this occasion I think they did some extra shape and some tactical work for around half an hour before they actually came down and warmed up.”
Newcastle United squad should all be on alert after Eddie Howe’s assessment
For the first time since his appointment in 2021, Howe was disappointed in the entire Newcastle team against West Ham.
While Howe has sometimes been accused of being too loyal to players, that should send a message to even his most trusted on-field lieutenants.
That, coupled with a potential change in shape, should make Wednesday night’s team selection utterly fascinating.
Three points alone won’t right the wrongs of Sunday. That can only happen with a much-improved performance down at Brentford four days after the Bilbao clash.
Still, any changes Howe makes may tell supporters an awful lot about the fall-out from arguably their worst game yet under his watch.