Newcastle United will face off against Watford at Vicarage Road on Saturday afternoon hoping to bounce back from their humiliating 5-0 defeat at the hands of Manchester City last night. Despite that loss, the Magpies have found some form in the Premier League in recent weeks which will give them a lot of hope of securing a positive result on their travels this weekend.
Steve Bruce will revert to a 4-2-3-1 formation and might make a few changes to his first-team for this league encounter away at Hertfordshire.
4-2-3-1 Newcastle United Predicted Lineup To Face Watford
Defence
Martin Dubravka will continue in goal for Newcastle despite shipping in five goals against Man City in midweek. Jamaal Lascelles is a significant concern for this game. Therefore, Fabian Schar might keep his place alongside Federico Fernandez at the heart of the Magpies defence. They will have to figure out a way to keep Watford’s Troy Deeney quiet throughout the 90 minutes.
Emil Krafth might be shifted to the right-hand side of Bruce’s defence after a day out as a makeshift centre-back versus the Citizens yesterday. Javier Manquillo could get the nod to start but this time as a makeshift left-back. Bruce is likely to prefer the Spaniard in that position over Danny Rose as he is far more stable defensively and might be better suited to cope with the pace of Watford’s Ismaila Sarr this weekend.
Midfield
Nabil Bentaleb will once again anchor the Newcastle midfield alongside Jonjo Shelvey as they try to produce another energetic performance at the centre of the park. The dynamic duo will not only be responsible for providing adequate protection for their teammates at the back but also creating some decent openings for the front players in the final third.
The talented trio of Matt Ritchie, Miguel Almiron and Valentino Lazaro will operate just ahead of them as part of the Magpies attack. All three of them will carry most of the creative workload in the opposition half as they try to link up with each other and cause a few problems for the Hornets on the break.
Allan Saint-Maximin is a slight concern ahead of this game, but Almiron should be ready in time to start this weekend.
Attack
Dwight Gayle might get another chance to shine for the Tyneside outfit while playing as the centre-forward up top. He will be the away team’s best hope for a goal when they lace up to face the Hertfordshire club on Saturday afternoon.
Andy Carroll will be in a race against time to be ready for this encounter away at Vicarage Road, but Joelinton should be available for selection on the bench.
