Newcastle return to Champions League action tonight, taking on German giants Bayer Leverkusen in what looks like a crucial game to keep our hopes of a top eight finish on track.
Last night, we were leapfrogged in the table by Liverpool, Spurs, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid, falling to 15th in the league phase and three points behind the top eight pace.
So, having lost to Marseille two weeks ago and with PSV and PSG to come in our last two games, it’s a big match tonight and a good test of our away form, which showed real signs of improvement in that 4-1 win at Everton 10 days ago.
But who will Eddie Howe start for tonight’s 8pm kick-off at the BayArena? Here is our best guess…
Predicted line-up
(4-3-3): Ramsdale – Livramento, Thiaw, Burn, Hall – Bruno, Tonali, Joelinton – Elanga, Woltemade, Barnes.
OUT: Schar, Willock, Ramsey, Gordon IN: Hall, Tonali, Joelinton, Barnes.
With Sven Botman still out, if it’s a toss up between Fabian Schar and Dan Burn to partner Malick Thiaw at centre-back, I think Burn edges it based on his leadership and Schar’s below par showing against Burnley on Saturday.
Three changes I’m fairly confident on include Lewis Hall to return at left-back, Sandro Tonali to play at the base of our midfield three and Joelinton to come back in on that left side after he has been rotated in two of our last four games.
That said, Lewis Miley has been performing well of late and didn’t start against Burnley on Saturday, so he is the most likely option to come in away from our usual trio, with Jacob Ramsey and Joe Willock more likely to be impact subs after played over the weekend.
Up top is the trickiest area to predict. Down the left, Anthony Gordon was superb against Burnley and Harvey Barnes has been in good form. On the right, Anthony Elanga has often performed better on the road and when given the chance to use his pace on the counter (Union SG and Everton come to mind), but Jacob Murphy could be due a start for rotational purposes after sitting out two of our last three.
Based on protecting Gordon for Sunday and rewarding Barnes’ recent form, starting Elanga in a game that could suit him and giving Nick Woltemade another 60-70 minutes, this time in his homeland against familiar opposition, I think we’ll see the front three who did so well at Everton in our last away game; Barnes, Woltemade, Elanga.
How do you see us lining up tonight? Let us know in the comments section below…
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