Newcastle United will be hoping to move one step closer to ending their 53-year wait for major silverware with victory over Bournemouth in the Carabao Cup tonight, with Eddie Howe set to take on his former employers in this fourth round meeting.
The Magpies won on penalties in the last round at home to Crystal Palace following a rather forgettable 90 minutes, with goalkeeper Nick Pope producing shootout heroics to set up this encounter against the Cherries after saving three spot-kicks.
The two teams have already met at St James’ Park this season, with summer signing Alexander Isak – who is set to be unavailable once again tonight due to injury – scoring from the penalty spot to clinch a 1-1 draw and cancel out Phillip Billing’s earlier strike during their September clash.
Ahead of the upcoming meeting on Tyneside, here’s how Football FanCast predicts that the hosts will line up…
It would appear likely that Howe will name a similar starting XI to the one which edged past Rayo Vallecano at the weekend in a mid-season friendly, with that 2-1 triumph having come despite a number of absentees due to injury and those returning from international duty.
The aforementioned Pope – who started against the La Liga outfit – should keep his place between the sticks, while the backline of Kieran Trippier, Sven Botman, Jamaal Lascelles and Matt Targett should also remain unchanged.
The same can be said of the midfield trio, with Jonjo Shelvey and Joe Willock set to be joined by Sean Longstaff once again, with the latter having scored in that win on Saturday.
The most notable changes could well lie in attack, with doubts emerging as to whether England international Callum Wilson will be fit to feature having missed the win over Vallecano. Team-mate Allan Saint-Maximin is also reportedly carrying a “slight injury”, according to his manager, which may put his involvement at risk.
As such, promising youngster Dylan Stephenson could well be in line for his competitive debut after recently scoring against Saudi Arabian side Al-Hilal, with the 20-year-old potentially deserving of a start ahead of the more experienced Chris Wood through the middle.
The 31-year-old did score from the penalty spot last time out – and has been described as “horrible to play against” by Alan Shearer and “reliable” by Gary Neville – although the £80k-per-week dud only has four goals to his name for the club in 2022, amid reports that he could be on his way out of St James’ Park in the New Year.
As for the wide attacking berths, Jacob Murphy could well keep his place in the forward line. He could potentially set to be joined by 16-year-old starlet Lewis Miley, with the playmaker also one who could make his senior bow after netting twice against Crystal Palace in the Premier League Cup earlier this week.
