Eddie Howe must put out his strongest Newcastle United XI against West Ham United, despite the looming Carabao Cup final.
The Magpies will soon be off to Wembley for the Carabao Cup final against Liverpool, as Newcastle aim to end their trophy drought.
Newcastle have had multiple problems in the build-up to the final, and there is still time for more things to go wrong. In that respect, Eddie Howe might be minded to rest some of his star players against West Ham on Monday night.
However, that would be a serious mistake. Newcastle are still competing to qualify for the Champions League, while they would seriously benefit from building up some momentum ahead of the cup final.
Eddie Howe must go full strength, and this is Geordie Boot Boys’ predicted Newcastle United XI to face West Ham.
Photo by Serena Taylor/Newcastle United via Getty Images
Photo by Serena Taylor/Newcastle United via Getty Images
Change in goal for Newcastle United
Newcastle fans were singing Martin Dubravka’s name against Brighton last weekend, as he made some very impressive saves.
However, he also made a mistake that culminated in Danny Welbeck scoring the winner to dump the Magpies out of the FA Cup.
Irrespective of what happened against the Seagulls, it feels likely that Howe will restore Nick Pope to the starting XI on Monday night. He is Newcastle’s first choice goalkeeper, and will hope to put in a strong performance ahead of the Carabao Cup final.
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In front of him, the Newcastle defence will remain unchanged. Lewis Hall is injured for the rest of the season, while Sven Botman will miss eight weeks of action with a knee problem.
How Eddie Howe will replace Anthony Gordon
Howe’s big dilemma heading into the next couple of Newcastle United games is who replaces Anthony Gordon.
While Gordon has been praised for his application on the training ground, he will be unavailable on Monday as he serves the first of a three-game ban.
Geordie Boot Boys predict that Joelinton will start on the left of attack in the absence of Gordon.
The Brazilian is tipped to start ahead of Harvey Barnes, with the £39million attacker dropped to the bench after starting on the right against Brighton.
With Joelinton out wide, Joe Willock will come into midfield alongside Sandro Tonali and Bruno Guimaraes.
In attack, Jacob Murphy will be on the right after starting the FA Cup defeat as a substitute.
Alexander Isak starts against West Ham despite fitness fears
Heading into the West Ham game, there have been major fears about Alexander Isak’s fitness.
However, there is no need to panic. Isak has trained with Newcastle ahead of facing the Hammers, and is fully fit to start at the London Stadium.
That is a major boost, as the 25-year-old looks to add to his tally of 22 goals this season.
READ MORE: Who is Alexander Isak? Age, Height, Family, Nationality, Roots
While Isak is expected to start, it would be a surprise if he plays the full 90 minutes against West Ham. Howe will likely have one eye on the final, while he will be well aware that Callum Wilson has an excellent goalscoring record when facing Monday night’s opponents.
Predicted XI vs West Ham: Pope; Trippier, Schar, Burn, Livramento; Bruno, Tonali, Willock; Murphy, Isak, Joelinton.