Newcastle United get their Premier League campaign underway with a visit to Aston Villa on Saturday lunchtime.
The pre-season campaign is over and Newcastle United will now turn their full focus towards a tough looking opening fixture to the Premier League season.
Just months after edging out Aston Villa in the race for one of the four Champions League places on offer, Eddie Howe’s men will visit Villa Park on Saturday lunchtime in what will be an immediate test of the Magpies top five credentials. With efforts to add further new faces to Howe’s squad ongoing and the possibility of AC Milan defender Malick Thiaw and Brentford forward Yoane Wissa joining the Magpies improving with each day, there could be several major calls for the United boss to make ahead of the first game of the new season.
Of course, one call that appears to have already been made is over Alexander Isak, who is still training on his own and will not be in contention for a place in the matchday squad next weekend. New signings Anthony Elanga and Aaron Ramsdale will be in the squad that will travel to the Midlands and they will hope to make their competitive debuts after featuring in friendly fixtures over the weekend.
But which players appear certain to start for the Magpies and what big decisions does Howe face ahead of the game?
Newcastle United players certain to start against Aston Villa
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Newcastle’s defensive unit seems to be almost set in concrete and it would be a surprise if Howe didn’t turn to his established centre back partnership of Dan Burn and Fabian Schar for the opening game of the Premier League season. The likes of Sven Botman and Jamaal Lascelles will expect to earn game-time during the campaign and the potential addition of Malick Thiaw will add further competition at the heart of the back four. England international Tino Livramento also seems certain to start at Villa Park - although where he starts in the back four remains to be seen. More of that in a minute.
Despite Lewis Miley’s impressive performance against Espanyol, it seems all but certain Howe will name Joelinton, Sandro Tonali and captain Bruno Guimaraes as his midfield trio after they established themselves as one of the most effective midfield units in the Premier League last season. Despite suffering a twisted ankle in Saturday’s defeat against Atletico Madrid, Anthony Gordon looks likely to be in Howe’s starting eleven for Saturday - although, like Livramento, it remains to be seen where the England winger will feature during the game.
Which places are up for grabs ahead of Newcastle United’s visit to Aston Villa?
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There are a number of places up for grabs at Villa Park and Howe’s first big decision comes with who will start in goal. Summer signing Aaron Ramsdale produced a solid display and saved a penalty in Friday’s draw with Espanyol and Nick Pope featured against Atletico Madrid just under 24 hours later. Having two England goalkeepers at his disposal is the sort of problem Howe will relish and he faces a major call ahead of the meeting with Unai Emery’s men.
Now, more on the Livramento conundrum. The former Chelsea and Southampton full-back has proven his quality and class on both sides of the back four and that is why he is sure to start at Villa Park. However, with Lewis Hall back in contention, Howe must decide whether to show a patient approach with the England star and hand a start to Kieran Trippier, with Livramento playing at left-back.
As mentioned earlier, Gordon will start at Villa Park - and he may well feature on the left-hand side of a front three if, and it is a big if, Newcastle are able to secure the services of a main striker over the coming days with Alexander Isak out of contention. However, if Gordon does start in the lead role in attack, Howe must select two from Harvey Barnes, Jacob Murphy and summer signing Anthony Elanga as his wingers for the game.
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