Newcastle United will travel to Carrow Road to face off against Norwich City on Saturday afternoon hoping to bounce back from their narrow 1-0 loss versus Arsenal. However, it won’t be easy to claim maximum points against the Norfolk outfit as they are well-drilled and can play some open, attractive football under Daniel Farke’s tutelage.
Steve Bruce is expected to opt for a 3-5-2 formation and keep changes to a minimum for this clash at Norfolk County.
3-5-2 Newcastle United Predicted Lineup To Face Norwich City
Defence
Martin Dubravka will start in goal for the Magpies once again despite failing to keep a clean sheet against Arsenal last weekend. The defensive trio of Paul Dummett, Jamaal Lascelles and Fabian Schar will lineup ahead of the Slovak goalkeeper at the heart of Bruce’s backline.
All three centre-backs will need to be at their best if they are to cope with the threat of Teemu Pukki, who managed to score against Liverpool at Anfield last week. Bruce would hope that his defenders have what it takes to keep up with the fluid movements of the Norwich attackers at Carrow Road on Saturday afternoon.
Midfield
The talented trio of Sean Longstaff, Jonjo Shelvey and Isaac Hayden will operate as the anchormen in midfield as they look to establish the away side’s dominance and authority at the centre of the park. Matt Ritchie will look to create a few chances going forward by putting in a tireless shift down the left flank. Javier Manquillo will try to keep things stable defensively while assuming the duties of a right-winger. The Spanish defender has failed to be productive in the opposition half, so he needs to find a way to deliver some telling crosses from the wide areas.
Both Shelvey and Jack Colback are slight doubts for this contest but should recover in time to feature for Bruce’s side this weekend.
Attack
Bruce might opt to go with the striking duo of Joelinton and Miguel Almiron so that the Magpies have enough firepower up top. Joelinton had a sensational campaign in the last term when he scored 11 goals and grabbed nine assists in 35 matches for TSG Hoffenheim. The Toon Army would hope that he can replicate a similar kind of productivity for the Tyneside outfit this season.
