ยท March 11 2025, 19:00
**Eddie Howe will have been relieved to have got through Monday night's victory over West Ham United with no further injuries to add to Newcastle United's woes ahead of Sunday's massive Carabao Cup final at Wembley.**
The Newcastle boss is missing Anthony Gordon, Lewis Hall, Sven Botman and Jamaal Lascelles with Gordon and Hall massive misses for Eddie Howe.
Botman has barely been available all season and Jamaal Lascelles hasn't kicked a ball in anger for almost a year, so Newcastle have won't miss them as much as Gordon and Hall who have both been massive players for the Magpies this season.
Eddie Howe has Harvey Barnes to cover for Gordon, however. And if Barnes isn't up to the task, he could always do what he did last night and bring on Joe Willock to play in the middle and push Joelinton out wide. There are options there.
Tino Livramento now finds himself covering for Lewis Hall
The left-back problem poses a big problem for Eddie Howe but he's almost got it right
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Finding adequate cover for Lewis Hall has been a bit more tricky, however. So far Eddie Howe has opted to play Tino Livramento on the left and Kieran Trippier on the right and kept Matt Targett on the bench.
After losing Lloyd Kelly to Juventus in January, Howe's options in that department have taken a hit.
While we'd definitely rather see Trippier and Livramento on the pitch over Targett, who has missed far too much football to be relied upon for a cup final, we would like to see Howe deploy a change.
Tino Livramento on the left is not the answer
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Having done so several times for England, we'd like to see Howe move Trippier to the left and keep Tino Livramento down the right.
He and Murphy have been working well together all season, and while we'd like to see more attacking impetus from Tino who we renamed Brembo last night given us ability to put the brakes on when Newcastle are attacking, we really don't see that impetus coming when he's on his weaker side.
Tino already hesitates too much to get the ball into the box as it is, without putting him on his weaker foot too. Last night showed just how much he struggled to ping balls in with his left foot, instead always having to halt the momentum to come back inside.
Perhaps it's a confidence thing as to why Tino always seems to end up moving the ball sideways or backwards when a first-time cross would be more appropriate, we're not sure, but if it is, then giving him an extra reason to doubt himself isn't helping anyone. Get him back on his stronger side.