Eddie Howe's side head to Stamford Bridge tonight, looking to move into the top half of the Premier League table
Tino Livramento of Newcastle United
Tino Livramento of Newcastle United(Image: Richard Lee/Shutterstock)
View Image
It's a huge week coming up for Newcastle United.. Premier League games against Chelsea and Sunderland are either side of Wednesday's Champions League tie at Barcelona, but head coach Eddie Howe will have largely the same squad for all three encounters.
Lewis Miley could return for the trip to Spain in midweek, but otherwise it's the same set of players will have to go into battle before the international break.
Howe could make changes for today's clash at Stamford Bridge, with Anthony Gordon fit to return and Tino Livramento pushing for his first start after his injury recovery. Joe Willock and Jacob Murphy are also available if Howe decides to rotate the line-up, while striker Nick Woltemade and Yoane Wissa could come in after missing out in midweek.
With that in mind, here are the starting XIs our team of NUFC would pick today.
Lee Ryder
The big call is whether Tino Livramento starts the game against Chelsea after two cameos against Man City and Barcelona. You could argue that Kieran Trippier gets a breather ahead of the trip to the Nou Camp and Livramento gets valuable minutes to put him in a better place.
Otherwise, I'm sticking with Malick Thiaw and Dan Burn in the middle and Lewis Hall at left-back. The midfield three that Howe has gone with in Bruno's absence again and I'd start with Harvey Barnes on the left wing, Elanga on the right and Gordon through the middle.
If the likes of Trippier, Nick Woltemade, Yoane Wissa and Joe Willock are on the bench there are plenty of options to tweak things and start to switch focus to Barcelona if the game ends up drifting beyond Newcastle.
We are close to putting all eggs in the Champions League basket I'd say.
My NUFC XI: Ramsdale, Livramento, Thiaw, Burn, Hall, Joelinton, Tonali, Ramsey, Barnes, Elanga, Gordon
Sean McCormick
Newcastle's priority over the next eight days is undoubtedly their Champions League second leg clash with Barcelona on Wednesday but they cannot afford to take Chelsea for granted, either.
With the Magpies starting the weekend four points adrift of eighth placed Everton, which looks set to be enough to qualify for European football next season, their margin for error in their last nine league games is next to nil.
That being said, they have to make changes to keep themselves as fresh as possible to face Barcelona and that means some sensible decisions have to be taken with the starting XI.
Sven Botman should come in for Dan Burn at centre-half with that in mind but the rest of the back four should remain the same. I feel Howe may have one eye on having Tino Livramento ready to start in Barcelona on Wednesday which will give Kieran Trippier, 35, a welcome break from action.
Joe Willock is primed to come into the midfield and I feel Joelinton, with the energy he expended on Tuesday night and will need on Wednesday, feels the obvious player to come out of the midfield.
Jacob Murphy should come in for Anthony Elanga to keep him fresh to terrorise Barcelona's left-hand side again. Whether or not Nick Woltemade or Yoane Wissa are given an opportunity to start up front remains to be seen but I suspect the trust to do that just doesn't quite exist at the moment.
My NUFC XI: Ramsdale; Trippier, Thiaw, Botman, Hall; Ramsey, Tonali, Willock; J Murphy, Barnes; Gordon
Stuart Jamieson
Go strong vs Chelsea and risk injuries for Barcelona, or rest players and risk losing valuable Premier League points? It's a tough one, especially with the derby now on the horizon. But with the international break to come, I feel Newcastle's season now hangs on these few days, so let's not take the foot off the pedal.
I would start Tino Livramento at right-back and bring Anthony Gordon is for Will Osula, but otherwise it's the same side which started in the Champions League on Tuesday night. There has been plenty recovery time, and the schedule is relatively spaced out before that date with Sunderland on March 22, so Newcastle have to go for it.
Anthony Elanga is benefitting from a run in the side, and while Jacob Murphy can make a strong case for inclusion at Stamford Bridge, I'm sticking with the Swede.
My NUFC XI: Ramsdale, Livramento, Thiaw, Burn, Hall, Tonali, Ramsey, Joelinton, Elanga, Barnes, Gordon.
Content Image
Content Image