The Magpies go into the second leg of the Qarabag play-off with nothing to lose
Anthony Gordon (R) celebrates his second goal for Newcastle vs Union SG with Sandro Tonali (C) and Nick Woltemade (L)
Newcastle's Sandro Tonali and Anthony Gordon(Image: Geert van Erven/Soccrates/Getty Images)
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Newcastle United boss Eddie Howe has explained that he took caution with some of his first-team stars ahead of their play-off clash with Qarabag in the Champions League.
Howe watched on as Sven Botman and Yoane Wissa trained but during an open session - watched by UEFA rights holders at Benton - there was no sign of Sandro Tonali or Anthony Gordon. Howe indicated that it probably won't impact his plans for the concluding leg of their play-off for the last 16.
When asked on Wissa and Botman being involved, Howe, speaking at his Press conference, said: "We hope so, we will wait and see how they wake up tomorrow but fingers crossed both will be involved."
Speaking about Tonali and Gordon's absence, he said: "There were a few players that we just kept inside today, no real issue, four or five players I think we just wanted to look after."
When asked if the temptation to play a young side will be in his thoughts, Howe said: "We'll look at the squad and try to pick a strong team. We want to win the game, that's the first target. In some senses we want to keep a good rhythm with the players.
"It's a delicate balance between rotating the squad and making sure everyone's fresh and also making sure players don't lose rhythm and we don't lose the good feeling we've had.
"So I'll try and pick the right team, taking all the information into consideration that we have. There is good energy in training all things considered."
Newcastle will look to book their place in the last 16 and can do so with confidence with a strong lead in hand.
When asked if that was the aim at the start of the season, Howe said: "It's something we spoke about before the competition started, that was our initial target, we wanted to reach the last-16. Then when you're at that point anything can happen.
"We back ourselves in cup ties and one-off games, that seems to have brought out the best of the squad this year. As much as that's the target, we've still got to win tomorrow's game and that's what we'll focus on.
"It's been really important. There's been some great performances in the Champions League and we've sort of saved our best for the competition.
"A lot was made of the result against Qarabag in the first leg but for me it was the performance and the manner and the hunger we showed. That's the level I want us to try and attain, or as close as we can, as often as possible."
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