We heard from Eddie Howe on Monday ahead of Newcastle United’s rematch with a Qarabag side they stuffed 6-1 win last week.
From injuries to the prospect of rotating some of his regulars, here’s what he said.
NEWCASTLE UNITED
Sven Botman (back) and Yoane Wissa (knock) could return for Tuesday’s match at St James’ Park. Both players were pictured in training on Monday.
“We hope so. We’ll wait and see how they both wake up tomorrow but fingers crossed, they will both be involved.” – Eddie Howe on whether Sven Botman and Yoane Wissa will be involved on Tuesday
Fabian Schar (ankle), Tino Livramento (hamstring), Bruno Guimaraes (hamstring), Lewis Miley (dead leg/muscle) and Emil Krafth (knee) remain out.
Miley and Livramento should return in the next week or two, however.
Malick Thiaw will also miss the Qarabag game but only because of a European suspension. He’ll be back in action in Gameweek 28.
As for whether or not he’ll rotate in midweek, with the tie all but done, Howe said he’d try to strike a balance.
“Possibly. 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 really delicate balance we’ve got between rotating the squad and making sure everyone’s fresh to win the game and also making sure players don’t lose rhythm and we don’t lose the good feeling we’ve had.” – Eddie Howe on the prospect of resting a few regulars
Anthony Gordon and Sandro Tonali are among the names who could get their legs spared on Tuesday. Neither player was seen in open training on Monday but Howe said there’s nothing much to worry about.
“There were a few players that we just kept inside today. No real issues. Four or five players, I think, that we just wanted to look after.” – Eddie Howe when asked about the Anthony Gordon and Sandro Tonali no-shows
Anthony Elanga and Joe Willock were also not present in the training session filmed by the cameras, so could be rested here.
Meanwhile, Howe commented on Nick Woltemade‘s new midfield role.
“Nick is very, very happy playing the role that he has done the last few games. There’s no sort of fight with him on that. He’s very much all in because he wants to showcase his best skills, and his best skills are technically helping us link play. But I think what we’ve seen, which maybe has surprised me even to a point, has been his tactical understanding and his ability to understand the press, understand what he needs to do defensively. He’s been excellent.” – Eddie Howe on Nick Woltemade