Following a disappointing defeat against Watford in the FA Cup on Saturday, Newcastle United will take on defending champions Manchester City at home on Tuesday.
The Magpies will hope to stop Manchester City but it’ll be easier said than done as the Sky Blues have won their last eight games in all competition following a defeat against Leicester City.
A host of key players including Jonjo Shelvey, Mohamed Diame, Ki Sung-Yeung and Paul Dummett are unlikely to feature for Newcastle.
In addition, goalkeeper Karl Darlow and Joselu will also miss out, while Yoshinori Muto is out on international duty.
Defence
Rafael Benitez is expected to continue with his five-man backline which should see club captain Jamaal Lascelles retain his place in the starting lineup while Fabian Schar and Florian Lejeune could come in for the defensive duo of Ciaran Clark and Federico Fernandez.
Newcastle are still yet to sign a new left-back this month, notably failing in their attempt to Jordan Lukaku, meaning Benitez will once again be forced to deploy Matt Ritchie in the left-back position, while DeAndre Yedlin is likely to replace Javier Manquillo on the opposite flank.
Martin Dubravka will return in goal after being left out in the 2-0 defeat to Watford on Saturday. The custodian might be in for a busy game.
Midfield
With both Shelvey and Diame out, the midfield duo of Isaac Hayden and Sean Longstaff should retain their place in midfield.
Benitez will hope that both of them will be able to deliver against arguably the best midfield in the league.
Attack
Joselu has been ruled out due to an ankle injury, which makes Salomon Rondon a guaranteed starter. The Venezuelan international will spearhead the Newcastle attack.
The forward will look to extend his scoring tally of just five goals in 17 matches, and might be supported by Ayoze Perez and Kenedy.
Kenedy could be given the nod ahead of Christian Atsu despite starting against Watford. However, we do expect Benitez to introduce Atsu at some point in the second half.
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