William Osula is surely pushing for a start for Newcastle United against Manchester City in the FA Cup on Saturday after his exploits against Manchester United.
Indeed, there is a very real chance that this is one of Newcastle United’s last big games left of the season.
With their Premier League form leaving a lot to be desired, the FA Cup and the Champions League represent the only avenues of success for Eddie Howe this season, and progress in either is a huge ask given the level of the opposition.
Convince me otherwise: Eddie Howe gave me my greatest day as a Newcastle fan but he has taken us as far as he can
DISCLAIMER: It's not all his fault, chaos behind the scenes and PSR does not help 😡
He’ll always be a hero but everything comes to an end
Still, Newcastle have shown they can beat Pep Guardiola’s side at St James’ Park, so here’s a look at the predicted XI.
Newcastle United predicted lineup vs Manchester City
Newcastle United predicted XI vs Manchester City: Ramsdale; Trippier, Thiaw, Botman; Hall; Tonali, Joelinton, Willock; J. Murphy, Osula, Gordon
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Split image showing Elliot Anderson playing for Nottingham Forest and Yankuba Minteh playing for Brighton
Credit: Robin Jones/Jon Hobley/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Nick Woltemade missed the win over Manchester United through illness but could return for Saturday’s clash on Tyneside.
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Aaron Ramsdale should replace Nick Pope indefinitely after his strong performance against the Red Devils earlier this week and the Southampton loanee has already played both FA Cup games this season anyway.
William Osula celebrates after scoring for Newcastle United against Manchester United.
Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images
It would not be a surprise to see Osula handed a starting berth following his match-winning moment at St James’ earlier this week.
Jacob Ramsey is suspended and while it would be nice to see both full-backs rested ahead of the Barcelona game on Wednesday, the injuries in the Newcastle United squad do not really allow for that.
Newcastle United confirmed team news vs Manchester City
Howe has confirmed that Woltemade could return, telling his pre-match press conference: “Nick should be okay, had an illness, he trained yesterday individually and felt okay.”
The Newcastle United manager also confirmed that Lewis Miley would miss the next few games, while it will also come too soon for Tino Livramento.
Livramento, however, could return from a thigh injury reasonably soon.
Howe added: “Tino is getting there, let’s wait and see. He hasn’t trained with us yet, but he has done a lot of work. He has a lot of work behind him, but it is just that training time with us.”
Newcastle United injuries vs Manchester City
Newcastle’s list of absentees remains extensive right now.
Bruno Guimaraes is still injured for Newcastle, along with Emil Krafth, Fabian Schar, as well as the aforementioned Miley and Livramento.
There is hope that all of the players other than Krafth will be able to play again this season but there’s a very real chance they could all miss the City game and both Barcelona clashes in the Champions League.
Howe does not have many options right now and must find a way to muddle through.
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