Newcastle United will take on Blackburn Rovers at St. James’ Park on Tuesday night with the hope of securing a win which would book them a place in the third round of the EFL Cup. The Magpies managed to pick up an impressive 2-0 victory over West Ham United last weekend, so they will head into this game with a lot of confidence even though most of their first-team players might get a rest.
Steve Bruce could change his formation to 4-2-3-1 and might be inclined to play some of his squad players versus the Lancashire outfit in midweek. We can expect to see both Joelinton and Miguel Almiron begin this game as they try to put on a good show in the attacking third.
4-2-3-1 Newcastle United Predicted Lineup To Face Blackburn Rovers
Defence
Karl Darlow might continue in goal for the Magpies after he kept a well-deserved shutout versus the Hammers last weekend. Bruce has a lot of defenders missing due to injury or lack of fitness with Florian Lejeune, Fabian Schar, Paul Dummett and Ciaran Clark all set to be unavailable for selection for this EFL Cup second-round clash at Tyneside.
Hence, Jamaal Lascelles will once again partner Federico Fernandez at the heart of the Magpies defence as they look to restrict the Blackburn attackers from scoring in midweek. Emil Krafth could get a start as the right-back while DeAndre Yedlin fills in on the other side as a makeshift left-back.
Both Javier Manquillo and Jamaal Lewis might be rested for this contest, so we can expect to see them on the Newcastle bench.
Midfield
Sean Longstaff could get a chance to impress alongside Isaac Hayden at the centre of the park. The hard-working duo will try to produce a tireless shift so that they can dominate the midfield battle and create some promising goal-scoring opportunities in the opposition half.
Christian Atsu will hope to use his pace on the left flank while new signing, Ryan Fraser operates as a right-sided winger. Miguel Almiron put in an impressive cameo off the bench versus the Hammers, so he deserves a chance to start this game. The Paraguayan sensation will look to cause all sorts of problems for the opposition while playing on the shoulders of Joelinton up top.
Attack
Joelinton will probably get the responsibility to lead the attack for Newcastle down the middle. The Brazilian striker is in dire need to bang in some goals so that he can build some confidence ahead of what could be another long and gruelling campaign for him this term.
