Newcastle United will be looking to get back to winning ways when they welcome Sean Dyche’s Burnley to St. James’ Park this weekend. The Clarets haven’t won a game at Tyneside against the Magpies in an inexplicably long time, and Steve Bruce will be hoping and praying that they’re able to keep that record going into what is sure to be a vital part of either team’s campaign.
The Toon army are coming into this tie on the back of a disappointing 1-0 defeat at the hands of Crystal Palace last weekend, where a lone Patrick Van-Aanholt strike proved to be the difference between the sides. Despite this, with some new additions in place as well, Steve Bruce will be confident of turning things around once again. The Magpies controlled possession in the meeting against the Eagles, but just looked toothless in front of goal, and were eventually made to pay the price
Team News
While Newcastle haven’t been able to build up any sort of momentum over recent weeks, one thing that has been building up is Steve Bruce’s injury list. In defence, Jetro Willems, Paul Dummett, Ciaran Clark and Emil Krafth have all been ruled out of the fixture due to injuries. Javi Manquillo and Christian Atsu could return from their knocks, but it’s unlikely that they’ll start this tie. Andy Carroll is another big name who is unavailable for selection this weekend, while Jonjo Shelvey could potentially make it back in time.
Predicted 5-4-1 Newcastle United Lineup Vs Burnley
Formation: 5-4-1
Defence
Martin Dubravka has been the first-choice keeper at Tyneside for a while now, and there have been no signs of him dropping out of this role anytime soon. In front of the shot-stopper, expect to see the familiar centre-half trio of Federico Fernandez, Fabian Schar and Jamaal Lascelles. The three of them have all been in fine goalscoring form over the course of the campaign and could have important parts to play against a leaky Burnley back-line. The red card picked up by Valentino Lazaro means that DeAndre Yedlin will replace him in the team, with Spurs loanee Danny Rose expected to continue down the left side.
Midfield
Newcastle United secured the signing of former Tottenham man Nabil Bentaleb earlier in the season, and he’s been a decent influence in the middle of the park for Steve Bruce’s side. The Algerian international should be partnered in the midfield area by Issac Hayden. Expect to see Allan Saint-Maximin and Miguel Almiron continuing down the flanks.
Attack
Brazilian striker Joelinton arrived in the summer with a massive reputation as well as fairly lofty expectations. Although he started the campaign looking like the real deal, things haven’t gone quite to plan for him so far. Even though the 23-year-old has still only scored the one league goal all term, expect the Brazilian to keep his place.
