Newcastle United rounded off their up-and-down March in the Premier League with a slim 1-0 away win at West Ham United, with the month properly finished off now with an EFL Cup final at Wembley versus Liverpool.
The Magpies could well have downed their tools to focus solely on that shot at silverware, but Eddie Howe's Toon were professional when coming up against Graham Potter's hosts, with this narrow victory on their travels leaving them just two points shy of the top four in the division.
Bruno-Guimaraes-1
Bruno Guimaraes was the difference-maker between the two sides at the London Stadium, as the Brazilian's strike early into the second half clinched all three points, continuing his fine season in the middle of the park.
Bruno Guimaraes' performance in numbers
The Newcastle captain will hope he can have a similar starring role against Arne Slot's Reds, with the standout Toon number 39 putting in a sterling overall performance against the Hammers.
Not only did Guimaraes score the winner but he ended up winning four duels as a tough battler, on top of tallying up one key pass.
His main moment in the spotlight came about when he connected with a fine Harvey Barnes delivery to hand his side a slender win.
Barnes' cross - which was hailed as "top quality" by Howe post-match - was just waiting to be put away, with the Brazilian now up to 11 goal contributions this season in all competitions off the back of this winning effort.
He could well have another memorable moment to come at Wembley, but whilst the 27-year-old did put in another stellar effort in the heart of midfield, one of his teammates arguably put in an even better individual display to ensure he remains in Howe's XI this coming Sunday.
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Performance in Numbers
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Whilst Anthony Gordon will miss the showdown with Liverpool owing to a suspension, it is very unlikely that Sandro Tonali will be sitting out this chance at silverware based on his showing against West Ham.
Sandro-Tonali
The Italian actually bettered Guimaraes when it comes to the number of duels won over the course of the 90 minutes.
The ex-AC Milan man finishing the clash having won a hefty nine duels, with journalist Josh Bunting noting how the 24-year-old was "dominating" the middle areas.
Tonali's performance in numbers
Minutes played
Goals scored
Assists
Touches
Accurate passes
Key passes
Successful dribbles
Clearances
Tackles
Total duels won
Stats by Sofascore
Tonali also tallied up four tackles as a combative presence alongside Guimaraes, all whilst also showing off his ability to burst forward confidently with 100% of his dribbles on the night completed.
Chronicle Live journalist Lee Ryder would, therefore, hand out a high 8/10 rating to the Magpies number eight after the game, highlighting all of the "crunch" tackles he put in to ensure his team were victorious on the road.
Luis Diaz and Diogo Jota against Sandro Tonali
Howe will hope Tonali can be this dogged and brave on the big stage at Wembley, with Liverpool stunted somewhat if their central midfielders aren't allowed to work their full magic.
Guimaraes stated after the determined Premier League win that his team can beat anyone when they're at their best, with that mentality very much put to the test in the one-off EFL Cup final to come.
If Tonali and his Brazilian counterpart can perform to the levels they managed on Monday night, a rare trophy might be heading to Tyneside, as the Toon faithful descending on Wembley pray for another top day out in the capital.
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