Newcastle United's English head coach Eddie Howe (C) gestures during the UEFA Champions League - League phase, Matchday 8 - football match between Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and Newcastle United FC at the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris on January 28, 2026. (Photo by FRANCK FIFE / AFP via Getty Images)placeholder image
Newcastle United's English head coach Eddie Howe (C) gestures during the UEFA Champions League - League phase, Matchday 8 - football match between Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and Newcastle United FC at the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris on January 28, 2026. (Photo by FRANCK FIFE / AFP via Getty Images) | AFP via Getty Images
Newcastle United have lined up in a 4-3-3 for the majority of the season.
The up-and-down nature of the Magpies’ Premier League season so far has sometimes led to criticism of Howe and how he has set up his team in certain matches.
United lost 2-0 at home to Aston Villa on Sunday playing 4-3-3 and Howe decided to alter his approach for the Champions League clash away to Paris Saint-Germain.
Howe deployed a 5-4-1 formation and it was a move that paid off as his side earned a 1-1 draw at the home of the competition holders.
Newcastle United boss Eddie Howe defends his 4-3-3 formation
It was a clear tactical change from the Magpies’ head coach, who could adopt a similar approach for tonight’s trip to Premier League champions Liverpool.
But even when he’s playing 4-3-3, Howe insists there are nuances within the system.
“Everyone's entitled to their opinion, and I respect everyone's opinion, I don't necessarily have to agree with it,” Howe said when asked if he was ‘stunned’ by accusations that he lacks ‘tactical versatility’.
“Tactical flexibility is what we try to show in every game to win our next game, and we'll be changing things that people won't see. But that's fine, that's the way the world is.
“Even the 4-3-3, everyone can see it as a 4-3-3, but we play it slightly different ways in different games.
“So it's very rarely the same system in consecutive games because the opponents are different and then we have to slightly just tweak things.
“Wednesday was a clear change in system. That's something we've done before this season, so it's not new. And we've had varying success with it.
“I thought Marseille was a good example of that, where we changed system and I thought we were really strong. And then the game got away from us a little bit after half-time
“But I think there's pros and cons to every system. There's no one system that solves everything. If there was, we'd be playing that one.”
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