I don’t think I’ll ever have a better two weeks as Newcastle United fan.
A win at Wembley, our first major domestic trophy for 70 years and a weekend we’ll never forget where half of Newcastle took to the streets to celebrate our brilliant manager and team full of heroes.
No one will take that 2-1 win over Liverpool and trophy lift away from us, but it’s back to work now as the lads face 10 more cup finals in our push for a top five finish and Champions League football.
Howe’s message was clear on Saturday; “as a group we need to go again. We have 10 games to go in the Premier League season and we’ve got to go again.”
Next up, a Brentford side who’ve won five away games on the spin in the league, handing us a tough test as we look to regain our place in the Champions League places over the final few months of 2025/26.
Howe’s pre-match comments
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**Howe on comeback from cup win –** “I think we are \[ready to play again\],” said Howe. “I think we enjoyed the break, I think we enjoyed sort of the line going through the cup final.
“I know we’ve had a bit of time to absorb what happened in that game. Thankfully it was positive, but I think now we’re ready to play again. I think we’ve been ready to play again for a while.
“That’s what we do and we’re still in the middle of the season, so it’s quite a long break, we have to try and navigate that as well as we can, with all the emotion around the game that you’ve just had.
“Hopefully we’re ready to play. Of course we’ve had a split group, we’ve had quite small numbers. Only recently we’ve now got the group back together but I think we’re focused.”
**Howe on huge 10 games –** “It has been a case of resetting and looking at our goals again in a different way,” said Howe. “We need to put what happened against Liverpool to the back of our minds and now really focus on the final ten games.
“Ten great opportunities to grab and try to turn our Premier League season into a memorable one as well as the cup final. Hopefully the lads are boosted and have renewed confidence.”
Team news
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Anthony Gordon is suspended for the final time and due back in training this week after a ‘nasty’ whack to his hip. Lewis Hall and Sven Botman are ruled out, although the Dutchman is making good progress and could return next month.
It’s worth noting that Joelinton (nine yellows) is one more booking away from a two-game ban, with Dan Burn also only eight yellows with four games left until the 10-booking rule shifts.
For Brentford, full-back Michael Kayode has recovered from a knee injury, but midfielder Mathias Jensen is sidelined along with Rico Henry, Aaron Hickey, Josh Dasilva and Igor Thiago.
Predicted line-up
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**(4-3-3):** Pope – Trippier, Schar, Burn, Livramento – Guimaraes, Tonali, Joelinton – Murphy, Isak, Barnes.
Probably one of the easiest predicted line-ups I’ve picked all season, as Howe has no reason to change the XI who beat Liverpool at Wembley over two weeks ago.
Pope impressed in the final to remind many why he’s Howe’s number one, Botman and Hall are out injured, the midfield three looks set for as long as they stay fit and Barnes will continue down the left with Gordon suspended.
I’ve got a good feeling about this for three reasons. 1) The team is one a high and we have momentum. 2) You just know Howe will have drilled it into the players to stay focused on our Champions League push and not allow complacency to slip in and 3) it will be a great atmosphere under the lights.
Brentford’s away form makes them a potential banana skin we must not take lightly, but I fancy Isak to score a brace in a big win at St James’.
**Prediction:** Newcastle 3-1 Brentford