Newcastle will be looking to move to the top of the table when they travel to Oakwell Stadium in the mid-week to play Barnsley.
Having a smooth run under Benitez’s management after they got relegated last season from the elite Premier League, Newcastle this season are sitting comfortably at the 3rd position with eight wins from twelve matches. They are currently one point below league leaders Norwich, who are on level points with Huddersfield.
However, Newcastle fans have every reason to believe that they would be edging closer to the Championship summit after Tuesday’s game. Their easy 3-1 hauling of Brentford at the weekend clearly reflects the confidence the club is enjoying at the moment.
T4O’s predicted lineup for Newcastle’s away match at Barnsley,
Defence
In defence, although Newcastle won as many 16 interceptions as compared to Brentford’s 46%, when it comes to tackling accuracy, the team is struggling at the moment. The aerial duels too have been a concern for Benitez’s men with only 19% successful in their last match. Keeping in mind teams like Brentford or Barnsley, who lacks sharp strikers up front, Newcastle’s smooth run is pretty much justified. The backline will be under pressure in critical conditions.
Newcastle has an assuring figure in Dummett, who looked the most composed at the back winning 5 of 5 aerial duels. Benitez will be banking heavily on Dummett when they travel to Barnsley.
Midfield
It is pretty much safe to say that Newcastle’s midfield is one of the best in the Championship. With players like Atsu, Shelvey and Gouffran taking much of the load at the final third as well up front, Benitez’s key plays clearly originate from there.
And Shelvey’s assists characterized by brilliant passes against Brentford reflects why the Spaniard thinks highly of the player. Apart from that Gouffran has been brilliant too with 4 successful aerial duels and the same number of successful tackles deep in the midfield. Shelvey has been instrumental in recovering the ball too with 9 crucial recoveries on Saturday.
Attack
It seems Gayle can’t stop scoring at the moment with 2 goals from 3 shots on target in his last game. Of course, credit for them has to be given to Shelvey’s brilliant long passes that were quite difficult for Brentford’s central defensive duo to handle. Barnsley will be looking to prevent this Shelvey and Diame/ Gayle link up to prevent any kind of threats.
